Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Costs of Being “Different”: Sexual Identity and Subjective Wellbeing over the Life Course

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Vast social transformations in recent decades have resulted in the emergence of a socio-political climate that is progressively more accepting of sexual minorities. However, sexual identity remains an important aspect influencing people’s lives, and is believed to have independent effects on subjective wellbeing via stigmatization and discrimination of sexual minorities. We use recently available, nationally representative, Australian panel data (n ≈ 15,000 individuals and 111,000 person-year observations) and panel regression models to provide an encompassing and generalizable empirical account of how sexual identity influences a range of subjective wellbeing outcomes, including mental health, life satisfaction, psychological distress and feelings of safety, and how its effects evolve over individuals’ life courses. We find that the subjective wellbeing of gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals is significantly worse than that of heterosexual individuals. Disparities are most apparent during adolescence and early adulthood and tend to close as people age, especially for bisexual individuals. Existing policies outlawing direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual identity in Australia are insufficient and a more global approach to prevent systematic, structural pressures on sexual minorities needed to close sexual identity disparities in subjective wellbeing. Interventions should particularly address the needs of teenagers and young adults.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Own calculations using the 1983 Australian Values Study Survey and the 2012 World Values Survey (available from the Australian Data Archive at http://www.ada.edu.au/).

  2. Differences in the ages at which the turning points for the concave functions for the main sexual identity groups occur are not statistically significant, with the exception of the difference between bisexual and heterosexual individuals in the life satisfaction graph.

  3. Similar evidence has been gathered by charity organizations using polls and echoed in the media. See for example: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/media/current_releases/4867.asp or http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/16/coming-out-age-open-thread.

  4. Nevertheless, instrumental-variable models would be difficult to implement in some of the models presented here, as these feature not only main effects of sexual identity but also interactions with age and its square.

References

  • Andersen, R., & Fetner, T. (2008). Economic inequality and intolerance: Attitudes toward homosexuality in 35 democracies. American Journal of Political Science, 52(4), 942–958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008). Catalogue number 4326.0. http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/6AE6DA447F985FC2CA2574EA00122BD6/$File/43260_2007.pdf. Last accessed, 07/01/2015.

  • Berry, H. L., & Welsh, J. A. (2010). Social capital and health in Australia: An overview from the household, income and labour dynamics in australia survey. Social Science and Medicine, 70(4), 588–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchflower, D. G., & Oswald, A. J. (2008). Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? Social Science and Medicine, 66(8), 1733–1749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bostwick, W. B., Boyd, C. J., Hughes, T. L., & McCabe, S. E. (2010). Dimensions of sexual orientation and the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 100(3), 468–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butterworth, P., & Crosier, T. (2004). The Validity of the SF-36 in an Australian national household survey: Demonstrating the applicability of the household income and labour dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey to examination of health inequalities. BMC Public Health, 4(1), 44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castells, M. (2010). The power of identity (2nd ed.). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

  • Diamond, L. M. (2005). A new view of lesbian subtypes: Stable versus fluid identity trajectories over an 8-year period. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29(2), 119–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, L. M. (2008). Female bisexuality from adolescence to adulthood: Results from a 10-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 44(1), 5–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiFulvio, G. T. (2011). Sexual minority youth, social connection and resilience: From personal struggle to collective identity. Social Science and Medicine, 72(10), 1611–1617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiPrete, T. A., & Eirich, G. M. (2006). Cumulative advantage as a mechanism for inequality: A review of theoretical and empirical developments. Annual Review of Sociology, 32, 271–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dustmann, C., & Preston, I. (2001). Attitudes to ethnic minorities, ethnic context and location decisions. The Economic Journal, 111(470), 353–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., Ridder, E. M., & Beautrais, A. L. (2005). Sexual orientation and mental health in a birth cohort of young adults. Psychological Medicine, 35(7), 971.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Floyd, F. J., & Bakeman, R. (2006). Coming-out across the life course: Implications of age and historical context. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35(3), 287–296.

  • Frable, D. E. S., Platt, L., & Hoey, S. (1998). concealable stigmas and positive self-perceptions: Feeling better around similar others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(4), 909–922.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature, 40(2), 402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gates, G. J. (2013). Demographics and LGBT health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 54(1), 72–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1992). The transformation of intimacy: Sexuality, love and eroticism in modern societies. Cambridge, England: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1990). Stigma. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grov, C., Bimbi, D. S., NaníN, J. E., & Parsons, J. T. (2006). Race, ethnicity, gender, and generational factors associated with the coming‐out process among gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals. Journal of sex research, 43(2), 115–121.

  • Hammack, P. L., Mayers, L., & Windell, E. P. (2013). Narrative, psychology and the politics of sexual identity in the United States: From ‘sickness’ to ‘species’ to ‘subject’. Psychology and Sexuality, 4(3), 219–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatzenbuehler, M. L., Bellatorre, A., Lee, Y., Finch, B. K., Muennig, P., & Fiscella, K. (2014). Structural stigma and all-cause mortality in sexual minority populations. Social Science and Medicine, 103, 33–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatzenbuehler, M. L., McLaughlin, K. A., Keyes, K. M., & Hasin, D. S. (2010). The impact of institutional discrimination on psychiatric disorders in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: A prospective study. American Journal of Public Health, 100(3), 452–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatzenbuehler, M. L., McLaughlin, K. A., & Xuan, Z. (2012). Social networks and risk for depressive symptoms in a national sample of sexual minority youth. Social Science and Medicine, 75(7), 1184–1191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herek, G. M., & Garnets, L. D. (2007). Sexual orientation and mental health. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 3, 353–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, G. R., & Lee, T. T. (2006). Public attitudes toward gays and lesbians: Trends and predictors. Journal of Homosexuality, 51(2), 57–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchison, E. D. (2011). Dimensions of human behavior: The changing life course. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Medicine. (2011). The health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people: Building a foundation for better understanding. DC: The National Academies Press Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorm, A. F., Korten, A. E., Rodgers, B., Jacomb, P. A., & Christensen, H. (2002). Sexual orientation and mental health: Results from a community survey of young and middle-aged adults. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 180(5), 423–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., Normand, S.-L. T., et al. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32(6), 959–976.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, M., McKeown, E., Warner, J., Ramsay, A., Johnson, K., Cort, C., et al. (2003). mental health and quality of life of gay men and lesbians in England and wales controlled, cross-sectional study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 183(6), 552–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, M., Semlyen, J., Tai, S. S., Killaspy, H., Osborn, D., Popelyuk, D., & Nazareth, I. (2007). Mental disorders, suicide and deliberate self harm in lesbian, gay and bisexual people: A systematic review. London: National Institute for Mental Health in England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinnish, K. K., Strassberg, D. S., & Turner, C. W. (2005). sex differences in the flexibility of sexual orientation: A multidimensional retrospective assessment. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 173–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lock, J., & Steiner, H. (1999). Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth risks for emotional, physical, and social problems: Results from a community-based survey. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(3), 297–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin-Storey, A., & Crosnoe, R. (2012). Sexual minority status, peer harassment, and adolescent depression. Journal of Adolescence, 35(4), 1001–1011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathy, R. M., Cochran, S. D., Olsen, J., & Mays, W. M. (2011). The association between relationship markers of sexual orientation and suicide: Denmark, 1990–2001. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46(2), 111–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNair, R., Kavanagh, A., Agius, P., & Tong, B. (2005). The mental health status of young adult and mid-life non-heterosexual australian women. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 29(3), 265–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNair, R., Szalacha, L. A., & Hughes, T. L. (2011). Health status, health service use, and satisfaction according to sexual identity of young Australian women. Women’s Health Issues, 21(1), 40–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNamee, H., Lloyd, K., & Schubotz, D. (2008). Same sex attraction, homophobic bullying and mental health of young people in Northern Ireland. Journal of Youth Studies, 11(1), 33–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, I. H. (1995). Minority stress and mental health in gay men. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36(1), 38–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674–697.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mock, S. E., & Eibach, R. P. (2012). Stability and change in sexual orientation identity over a 10-year period in adulthood. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(3), 641–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molero, F., Recio, P., García-Ael, C., Fuster, M. J., & Sanjuán, P. (2013). Measuring dimensions of perceived discrimination in five stigmatized groups. Social Indicators Research, 114(3), 901–914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mortimer, J. T., & Shanahan, M. J. (Eds.). (2004). Handbook of the life course. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Needham, B. L. (2012). Sexual attraction and trajectories of mental health and substance use during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(2), 179–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Needham, B. L., & Austin, E. L. (2010). Sexual orientation, parental support, and health during the transition to young adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(10), 1189–1198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ott, M. Q., Corliss, H. L., Wypij, D., Rosario, M., & Austin, S. B. (2011). Stability and change in self-reported sexual orientation identity in young people: Application of mobility metrics. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(3), 519–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pachankis, J. E., Hatzenbuehler, M. L., & Starks, T. J. (2014). The influence of structural stigma and rejection sensitivity on young sexual minority men’s daily tobacco and alcohol use. Social Science and Medicine, 103, 67–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pattatucci, A. M., & Hamer, D. H. (1995). Development and familiarity of sexual orientation in females. Behavior Genetics, 25(5), 407–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plug, E., Webbink, D., & Martin, N. (2014). Sexual orientation, prejudice, and segregation. Journal of Labor Economics, 32(1), 123–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purdam, K., Wilson, A. R., Afkhami, R., & Olsen, W. (2008). Surveying sexual orientation: Asking difficult questions and providing useful answers. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 10(2), 127–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivers, I. (2011). Homophobic bullying: Research and theoretical perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, K. H., Bansel, P., Denson, N., Ovenden, G., & Davies, C. (2014). Growing up queer: Issues facing young australians who are gender variant and sexuality diverse. Melbourne: Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosario, M., Schrimshaw, E. W., Hunter, J., & Braun, L. (2006). Sexual identity development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths: Consistency and change over time. Journal of Sex Research, 43(1), 46–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roseneil, S., Crowhurst, I., Hellesund, T., Santos, A. C., & Stoilova, M. (2013). Changing landscapes of heteronormativity: The regulation and normalization of same-sex sexualities in Europe. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society, 20(2), 165–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, N. E. (2010). Coming out stories of gay and lesbian young adults. Journal of Homosexuality, 57(9), 1174–1191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S. T., & Joyner, K. (2001). Adolescent sexual orientation and suicide risk: Evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 91(8), 1276–1281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S. T., & Toomey, R. B. (2012). Men’s sexual orientation and suicide: Evidence for U.S. adolescent-specific risk. Social Science and Medicine, 74(4), 523–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C., Joyner, K., & Rieger, G. (2012). Prevalence and stability of self-reported sexual orientation identity during young adulthood. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(1), 103–110.

  • Schilt, K., & Westbrook, L. (2009). Doing gender, doing heternormativity: Gender normals, transgender people, and the social maintenance of heterosexuality. Gender and Society, 23(4), 440–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shilo, G., & Savaya, R. (2011). Effects of family and friend support on LGB youths’ mental health and sexual orientation milestones. Family Relations, 60(3), 318–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silenzio, V. M. B., Pena, J. B., Duberstein, P. R., Cerel, J., & Knox, K. L. (2007). Sexual orientation and risk factors for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among adolescents and young adults. American Journal of Public Health, 97(11), 2017–2019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. W. (2011). Cross-national differences in attitudes towards homosexuality. GSS cross-national report No. 31. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/81m7x7kb. Last accessed, 07/01/2015.

  • Smith, A., Rissel, C. E., Richters, J., Grulich, A. E., & Visser, R. O. (2003). Sex in Australia: Sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience among a representative sample of adults. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 27(2), 138–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoudt, B. G. (2006). You’re either in or you’re out: School violence, peer discipline, and the (Re)production of hegemonic masculinity. Men and Masculinities, 8(3), 273–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A. (2010). Stress and health: Major findings and policy implications. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(1), S41–S53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trenchard, L., & Warren, H. (1984). Something to tell you. London: London Gay Teenage Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Troiden, D. R. R. (1989). The formation of homosexual identities. Journal of Homosexuality, 17(1–2), 43–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ueno, K. (2005). Sexual orientation and psychological distress in adolescence: Examining interpersonal stressors and social support processes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 68(3), 258–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ueno, K. (2010). Mental health differences between young adults with and without same-sex contact: A simultaneous examination of underlying mechanisms. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(4), 391–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uhrig, S. C. N. (2015). Sexual orientation and poverty in the UK: A review and top-line findings from the UK household longitudinal study. Forthcoming in Journal of Research in Gender Studies.

  • Ware, J. E, Jr, & Sherbourne, C. D. (1992). The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36): I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Medical Care, 30(6), 473–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, N., & Wooden, M. (2012). The HILDA survey: A case study in the design and development of a successful household panel study. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 3(3), 369–381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willson, A. E., Shuey, K. M., & Elder, G. H, Jr. (2007). Cumulative advantage processes as mechanisms of inequality in life course health. American Journal of Sociology, 112(6), 1886–1924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wooldridge, J. M. (2010). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Janeen Baxter, Sergi Vidal, Liesel Ferrari and Janine Feodoroff for helpful discussions. I am also grateful to an anonymous manuscript reviewer, whose suggestions greatly improved this paper. This research was partially supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (project number CE140100027) and by an UQ Early Career Researcher grant. The HILDA Project was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (Melbourne Institute). The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to either DSS or the Melbourne Institute.

Ethical standard

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, ISSR, Building 39a (GPN3), Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Francisco Perales

Authors
  1. Francisco Perales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francisco Perales.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 6, 7, 8 and Fig. 2.

Table 6 Sample descriptive statistics
Full size table
Table 7 Regression models of subjective wellbeing, ordinary least squares specifications on wave 12 data
Full size table
Table 8 Regression models of subjective wellbeing, pooling homosexual and bisexual people
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Perales, F. The Costs of Being “Different”: Sexual Identity and Subjective Wellbeing over the Life Course. Soc Indic Res 127, 827–849 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0974-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0974-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation