foodconsumer.org: Sexual minorities more likely to seek mental health care

Sexual minorities more likely to seek mental health care
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admin on 08/15/2009 21:49:00
 
By Sheilah Downey
Citing stresses such as discrimination and violence, researchers say lesbian,
gay and bisexual women are twice as likely to seek help for mental and substance
abuse disorders than heterosexuals.
The stressful life issues associated with being gay may be greater among sexual
and gender minorities and "may be construed as mental health problems," wrote
researchers at the University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health.
The study's findings show that minority sexual orientation predisposes
individuals to seek out mental health services.
"It is well known that health services utilization is greater among women
generally," said study co-author Susan Cochran, professor of epidemiology at
UCLA. "Here we have shown that minority sexual orientation is also an important
consideration."
Researchers studied data data on 2,074 people in the California Quality of Life
Survey. Results revealed that 48.5 percent of lesbain, gay and bisexuals
received treatment in the past year, compared to 22.5 percent of heterosexuals.
Lesbians and bisexual women were most likely to receive treatment, said
researchers, and heterosexual men were least likely.
Other studies have shown that sexual minorities who seek mental health treatment
"do not have a diagnosable disorder but may have other symptoms, such as
psychological distress or impairments in functioning, that lead them to seek
care," stated the UCLA release.
The study was published in the journal BMC Psychiatry.