Abstract
Sexual victimization is associated with worse mental health outcomes among LGBQ + adolescents and adults; however, limited work has focused on these relations among emerging adults in college and has not tested mechanisms that might explain these associations. Thus, the current study tested the associations between sexual victimization and mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms) and examined social support and trauma-related drinking as mediators of these associations among diverse LGBQ + college student emerging adults. Additionally, we tested whether findings varied among Students of Color and White Students. Participants included 179 LGBQ + college students (M = 19.48, SD = 0.74) who completed measures of sexual victimization, social support, trauma-related drinking, and mental health. Trauma-related drinking was a significant mediator, such that sexual victimization was associated with greater trauma-related drinking and, in turn, greater anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Although social support was not a significant mediator, social support was associated with less anxiety symptoms and less depressive symptoms. Findings did not vary by ethnicity/race. Findings have research and intervention implications by highlighting the ways in which sexual victimization, social support, and trauma-related drinking affect LGBQ + college students’ mental health.
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Individuals who identify as, but not limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (National Institutes of Health, 2021).
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Acknowledgements
Spit for Science has been supported by Virginia Commonwealth University, P20 AA017828, R37AA011408, K02AA018755, and P50 AA022537 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and UL1RR031990 from the National Center for Research Resources and National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research. Data from this study are available to qualified researchers by emailing Spit4Science@vcu.edu and via dbGaP (phs001754). Additionally, the spin-off study, Life Events and Alcohol Use, was supported by Virginia Commonwealth University, P50AA022537, PI: Dr. Amstadter and F31AA025820 from National Institutes of Health, PI: Sage Hawn. These data were used for the current project, which was Eryn DeLaney’s dissertation. We would like to thank the participants for making this study a success, as well as the many faculty, students, and staff who contributed to the design and implementation of these projects.
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This study suggests that when LGBQ + emerging adults in college experience sexual victimization, they turn to drinking to cope with trauma, and this worsens their mental health. However, when they have strong support from others, it improves their mental health, highlighting that we need to find ways to help LGBQ + students cope with sexual victimization experiences, trauma-related drinking, and focus on their social support networks to improve mental health.
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DeLaney, E.N., Williams, C.D., Jones, S.C.T. et al. Sexual Victimization and Mental Health Among LGBQ + College Students: Examining Social Support and Trauma-Related Drinking as Mediators. Int J Ment Health Addiction (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00997-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00997-6