Substance use and mental health outcomes of heterosexist and racist events in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Black women
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between experiences of heterosexist and racist events and psychological distress and substance use in a sample of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Black women. This study hypothesized that experiences of heterosexist and racist events would positively and significantly relate to psychological distress, alcohol use, and drug use. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that heterosexism and racism would uniquely contribute to the variance in psychological distress, alcohol use and drug use. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the interaction of heterosexism and racism would account for greater variance in psychological distress, alcohol use, and drug use, than either independent variable alone. Participants included 110 Black women who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning. Original data were collected through the completion of self-report measures via paper or online mediums. Results of the bivariate correlations revealed that racism positively and significantly correlated with psychological distress and drug use, but not alcohol use. Heterosexism did not positively and significantly correlate with psychological distress, alcohol use or drug use. Results of the regression analyses revealed that racism contributed a significantly unique portion of the variance in psychological distress and drug use, but not alcohol use. Heterosexism did not contribute any significant portion of the variance of psychological distress, alcohol use, or drug use. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the interaction of heterosexism and racism did not significantly contribute to the variance of psychological distress, alcohol use, or drug use. Implications of these findings, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research were discussed.
Subject Area
Black studies|Behavioral psychology|Womens studies|Clinical psychology|Gender studies|LGBTQ studies
Recommended Citation
Semino, Shelby Jill, "Substance use and mental health outcomes of heterosexist and racist events in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Black women" (2009). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3361374.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3361374
