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Sexual Attraction and Psychological Adjustment in Dutch Adolescents: Coping Style as a Mediator

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Abstract

This study examined whether feelings of same-sex attraction (SSA) in 12- to 15-year-old Dutch adolescents were related to psychological health (self-esteem and psychological distress) and whether this relation was mediated by coping styles and moderated by biological sex. Data were collected from 1,546 high school students (802 boys and 744 girls; M age = 13.57 years) by means of standardized measurements. SSA was found to predict lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of psychological distress. Further analyses showed that passive coping style partly mediated these associations. This mediation was not moderated by biological sex. The findings suggest that in understanding and addressing mental health disparities between sexual minorities and heterosexual youth attention should be paid to intrapersonal psychological factors such as coping styles.

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Acknowledgments

The preparation of this manuscript was supported by NIMH center grant P30-MH43520 (P.I.: Robert Remien, Ph.D.) to HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute of Child Development and Education, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, 1018 VZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Henny Bos & Gabriël van Beusekom

  2. Division of Gender, Sexuality, and Health, New York Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Theo Sandfort

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Theo Sandfort

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  1. Henny Bos
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  2. Gabriël van Beusekom
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  3. Theo Sandfort
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Correspondence to Henny Bos.

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Bos, H., van Beusekom, G. & Sandfort, T. Sexual Attraction and Psychological Adjustment in Dutch Adolescents: Coping Style as a Mediator. Arch Sex Behav 43, 1579–1588 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0308-0

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