Abstract P704: Associations of Intersectional Discrimination, Microaggressions, and Perceived Stroke Risk in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People of Color

Abstract

Introduction: As a psychosocial stressor, intersectional discrimination may contribute to adverse cardiovascular/stroke health for racial/ethnic LGBTQ (Caceres et al., 2019). This study tested this by examining the associations of intersectional discrimination and microaggressions as unique predictors of stroke risk in a sample of racial/ethnic LGBTQ. Method: Racial/ethnic LGBTQ ( N = 307) were recruited online and completed the LGBT PoC microaggression scale (LGBT-PCMS), the Intersectional Discrimination Index (InDI), and the Perceived Stroke Risk subscale of the ABCD Risk Questionnaire for this study. To account for high depression levels typically found in online samples (Ophir et al., 2019), depression (measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) was included as a covariate. A hierarchical linear regression model was used, with depression (i.e., PHQ-9) in block 1, intersectional microaggressions subscales of the LGBT-PCMS in block 2, and intersectional discrimination subscales of the InDI in block 3 to predict stroke risk. Results: Participants were 19-68 years of age ( M = 34.63, SD = 9.91), majority Cisgender (92%), with 6% Transgender, and 2% Genderqueer/Gender Non-Conforming. Most were Bisexual (76%), with 14.6% identifying as Gay, 8.7% as Lesbian, and .7% as Heterosexual. The sample was 72% Hispanics, 17.2% non-Hispanics Black, 6.5% non-Hispanic Asians, 2.6% Native American/American Indians, and 1.7% identifying as two or more Hispanic groups. For block 1, depression was positively and significantly associated with stroke risk ( β = .612, p < .001). In block 2, above and beyond depression, the LGBT PoC heterosexism subscale of the LGBT-PCMS was positively and significantly associated with stroke risk ( β = .216, p =.015). In block 3, anticipated intersectional discrimination ( β =.241, p < .001) and major intersectional discrimination ( β =.265, p < .001) of the InDI were positively and significantly associated with stroke risk. Discussion: Findings provide evidence for overt and covert intersectional discrimination as unique predictors of perceived stroke risk for this racial/ethnic LGBTQ (majority Hispanic and Black Bisexual) sample.