The Impact of Persistent Sadness and Bullying Victimization on Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Heterosexual-Identified Sexual Minority and LGBQ Adolescents
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Psychology ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Summer 6-11-2019 The Impact of Persistent Sadness and Bullying Victimization on Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among Heterosexual-Identified Sexual Minority and LGBQ Adolescents Amber L. Dukes University of New Mexico - Main Campus Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/psy_etds Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Dukes, Amber L.. "The Impact of Persistent Sadness and Bullying Victimization on Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among Heterosexual-Identified Sexual Minority and GBQL Adolescents." (2019). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/psy_etds/307 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Psychology ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Amber Dukes, MSc._____________________________________ Candidate Psychology____________________________________________ Department This dissertation is approved, and is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Steven Verney, PhD, Chairperson____________________________________________ Steven Gangestad, PhD_____________________________________________________ Kevin Vowles, PhD_______________________________________________________ Kristine Tollestrup, PhD___________________________________________________ i THE IMPACT OF PERSISTENT SADNESS AND BULLYING VICTIMIZATION ON SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIORS AMONG HETEROSEXUAL- IDENTIFIED SEXUAL MINORITY AND LGBQ ADOLESCENTS BY AMBER DUKES B.S. Psychology, University of Central Florida, 2010 B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Central Florida, 2010 MSc. Evolutionary Psychology, Brunel University London, 2011 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December, 2019 ii DEDICATION For Buddy. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would have been impossible without support. Thank you to my committee and the rest of the psychology faculty for your patience and providing ample motivation to finish. Thanks especially to my partner, Bryan, for going above and beyond by not only taking care of a disabled partner but coping with the second-hand stress of living with someone writing a dissertation. I honestly could not have done this without you, and I appreciate every little thing you’ve done for me. iv THE IMPACT OF PERSISTENT SADNESS AND BULLYING VICTIMIZATION ON SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIORS AMONG HETEROSEXUAL- IDENTIFIED SEXUAL MINORITY AND LGBQ ADOLESCENTS BY Amber Dukes, MSc B.S. Psychology, University of Central Florida, 2010 B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Central Florida, 2010 MSc. Evolutionary Psychology, Brunel University London, 2011 Ph.D., Psychology, University of NeW Mexico, 2019 v ABSTRACT Participants who identify as heterosexual comprise a proportion of those who report same-sex contact that is as large as or larger than their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning peers. However, little research has explored psychosocial outcomes among heterosexuals with same- or both-sex contact, referred to herein as heterosexual- identified sexual minority (HSM) participants. This study examined the impact of persistent sadness, bullying victimization, and sexual orientation on the probability of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in a sample of heterosexual- and LGBQ- identified adolescents. Results showed that the probability the probability of STBs was higher for bisexual and questioning participants compared with their heterosexual peers even when considering bullying victimization and persistent sadness simultaneously. Notable sex differences in were found in outcomes for HSM participants. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of stigma and male gender role norms on outcomes for sexual minority males. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. xi LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. xii Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 Medicalizing Sexual Orientation ..................................................................... 8 Sexual Stigma, Heterosexism, and Sexual Prejudice ................................... 16 Minority Stress Theory & The Psychological Mediation FrameWork ....... 18 Distal Stressors ......................................................................................................... 20 Proximal Stressors .................................................................................................... 22 Multiple Minority Status and Intersectionality ........................................................ 24 Adolescent Sexual Identity Development ...................................................... 29 Self-labeling and Identity Disclosure ....................................................................... 31 First Same-Sex Sexual Encounter ............................................................................ 32 Sexual Orientation Discordance .................................................................... 34 Sexual Orientation Fluidity ...................................................................................... 38 Sexual Desire versus Romantic Attraction .............................................................. 39 Heterosexual-Identified Sexual Minorities .............................................................. 40 Mostly Heterosexuals ............................................................................................... 50 Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Sexual Minority Youth ..................... 52 Differences in Risk for Suicidality by Participant Sex ............................................ 55 Differences in Risk for Suicidality by Race/ethnicity .............................................. 55 Differences in Risk for Suicidality by Sexual Orientation Subgroup ...................... 59 Adolescent Sexual Contacts and Suicidality ............................................................ 62 vii Sexual Orientation Discordance and Suicidality ...................................................... 63 Risk Factors for Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors ..................................... 64 Depression and Other Mental Health Problems ....................................................... 65 Bullying Victimization ............................................................................................. 68 Bullying Victimization and Risk for Suicidality ...................................................... 71 Summary .......................................................................................................... 75 Gaps in the Current Literature ..................................................................... 78 The Current Study .......................................................................................... 83 Methods ................................................................................................................ 86 Sampling and Participants ............................................................................. 86 Instrumentation and Operationalization of Constructs .............................. 88 Data reliability and validity ........................................................................... 94 Ethics Statement .............................................................................................. 94 Statistical Analyses.......................................................................................... 95 PSUs, Clusters, & Stratification ............................................................................... 95 Survey Weights ........................................................................................................ 97 Sample Variance & Variance Estimation ................................................................ 97 Missing Values Analysis ........................................................................................ 100 Bivariate Analyses ................................................................................................. 100 Multivariate Analyses ............................................................................................ 102 Adjusted Predictions and Marginal Effects ............................................................ 103 Results ................................................................................................................ 107 Missing Values Analysis ............................................................................... 107 viii Bivariate Analyses ......................................................................................... 109 Sexual Identity and Sexual Contacts ...................................................................... 109 Sex Differences for Suicidality Risk Factors ......................................................... 113 Sexual Orientation Differences for Suicidality Risk Factors ................................. 114 Race/ethnicity Differences for Suicide Risk Factors ............................................