TY - JOUR
T1 - Internalized homophobia, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in South Korea
T2 - An age-stratified analysis
AU - Lee, Hyemin
AU - Operario, Don
AU - Yi, Horim
AU - Choo, Sungsub
AU - Kim, Seung Sup
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was partially financially supported by the Korean Gay Men’s Human Rights Group Chingusai and the Beautiful Foundation, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2018S1A5B6075594), and Korea University Grant (K1711251).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - Purpose: Little research on internalized homophobia (IHP) and mental health among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has been done in South Korea, a context in which LGB populations widely experience societal stigma. This study examined the association between IHP and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among Korean LGB adults and investigated whether the association differed by participants' age. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the "Rainbow Connection Project I - Korean Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Adults' Health Study" were used for this study (N = 2178). Descriptive analyses were conducted to explore the distribution of IHP, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation across all covariates. Multivariate analyses were also used to investigate the overall and age-stratified associations between IHP and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Results: The prevalence of high IHP was greater among older LGB adults, whereas the prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation was higher among younger LGB adults. LGB individuals with high IHP levels had significantly greater risk of depressive symptoms than those with low IHP levels. In the age-stratified analyses, the associations between IHP and depressive symptoms were statistically significant only among older LGB adults with high IHP levels. Regarding suicidal ideation, the overall association was statistically significant in the full sample, but not in the age-stratified analyses. Conclusion: These findings suggest that mental health interventions are needed for LGB adults who have high IHP levels, especially among older generations. Furthermore, greater efforts are needed to enact protective legislation for sexual minority individuals in South Korea.
AB - Purpose: Little research on internalized homophobia (IHP) and mental health among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has been done in South Korea, a context in which LGB populations widely experience societal stigma. This study examined the association between IHP and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among Korean LGB adults and investigated whether the association differed by participants' age. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the "Rainbow Connection Project I - Korean Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Adults' Health Study" were used for this study (N = 2178). Descriptive analyses were conducted to explore the distribution of IHP, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation across all covariates. Multivariate analyses were also used to investigate the overall and age-stratified associations between IHP and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Results: The prevalence of high IHP was greater among older LGB adults, whereas the prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation was higher among younger LGB adults. LGB individuals with high IHP levels had significantly greater risk of depressive symptoms than those with low IHP levels. In the age-stratified analyses, the associations between IHP and depressive symptoms were statistically significant only among older LGB adults with high IHP levels. Regarding suicidal ideation, the overall association was statistically significant in the full sample, but not in the age-stratified analyses. Conclusion: These findings suggest that mental health interventions are needed for LGB adults who have high IHP levels, especially among older generations. Furthermore, greater efforts are needed to enact protective legislation for sexual minority individuals in South Korea.
KW - LGB
KW - South Korea
KW - depressive symptoms
KW - internalized homophobia
KW - sexual minority
KW - suicidal ideation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076325937&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/lgbt.2019.0108
DO - 10.1089/lgbt.2019.0108
M3 - Article
C2 - 31746660
AN - SCOPUS:85076325937
VL - 6
SP - 393
EP - 399
JO - LGBT Health
JF - LGBT Health
SN - 2325-8292
IS - 8
ER -