Association between Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among 2,162 Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in South Korea: Does Community Connectedness Modify the Association?

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated the association between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among Korean lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals and explored the role of community connectedness in that association. We analyzed a nationwide cross-sectional survey of 2,162 LGB adults in Korea. Discrimination based on its types, including sexual orientation, over the past 12 months was classified into four categories: (1) ‘never experienced discrimination,’ experienced (2) ‘only sexual orientation discrimination,’ (3) ‘any of the other types of discrimination,’ and (4) ‘both sexual orientation discrimination and any of the other types of discrimination.’ Our findings suggest that there was a statistically significant association between ‘only sexual orientation discrimination’ and depressive symptoms among LGB individuals with a low-level of community connectedness, but not among those with a high-level. In the other two categories of discrimination, which included the other types of discrimination, the associations were statistically significant, regardless of the level of community connectedness.