Changes in Mental Health and Well-Being Are Associated With Living Arrangements With Parents During COVID-19 Among Sexual Minority Young Persons in the U.S.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers
• Personal Author:
  Salerno, John P. ; Doan, Long ; Sayer, Liana C. ; Drotning, Kelsey J. ; Rinderknecht, R. Gordon ; Fish, Jessica N.
• Description:
  Sexual minority young persons may be at risk for compounding mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic due to their existing vulnerabilities for psychological inequities. Indeed, recent research has documented that sexual minority young persons are experiencing compounding psychiatric effects associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, researchers and practitioners hypothesized that sexual minority youth and young adults may experience unique hardships related to their sexual and gender identities and familial conflict as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and living arrangement changes with their parents and families. This study aims to investigate whether there are changes in sexual minority (and non-sexual minority) young adults' (SMYAs) mental health and wellbeing among those living with and living without their parents before and after the start of COVID-19. Among a cross-sectional sample of SMYAs (n=294; M|=22 years; age range=18-26) and non-SMYAs (n=874; M|=22 years; age range=18-26) defined by whether they were living with or living without their parents before and after the start of COVID-19, we retrospectively analyzed changes in psychological distress and wellbeing. SMYAs who returned to their parents' homes during post-onset of COVID-19 reported greater mental distress and lower wellbeing, followed by those who were living with their parents both before and after the start of COVID-19. Patterns were not consistent among non-SMYAs, and lower magnitudes of change were seen. There is a significant public health need for mental health services and family education resources for supporting SMYAs in the context of COVID-19 and beyond.
• Keywords:
  LGBTQ Mental Health Parents Wellbeing Young Adults
• Source:
  Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers. 10(1):150-156
• Pubmed ID:
  37283818
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC10241357
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  P2C HD041041/HD/NICHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R36 MH123043/MH/NIMH NIH HHSUnited States/ ; U48 DP006382/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  10
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:971dbaf65ca3a23daf929e0e69c2de7a2ff161de8bebb93a4ba4b2893a5ac1ac
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/129635/cdc_129635_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 350.31 KB ]