Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that sexual minorities experience elevated levels of depressive symptoms compared to heterosexuals in Western countries. Still, little is known about whether there is any difference in depressive symptoms between sexual minority men and heterosexual men in China. This study investigated the differences in depressive symptoms and social support between 302 Chinese sexual minority men and 249 heterosexual men. The association between depressive symptoms, social support and sexual orientation was also explored. Our results indicated that Chinese sexual minority men have more depressive symptoms and perceived lower social support than heterosexual men. Overall, sexual orientation and social support both predicted depressive symptoms. Different from previous Western studies, in our results, social support fully mediates but does not moderate the relationship between sexual orientation and depressive symptoms in Chinese men. The current findings suggest that social support has a significant impact on depressive symptoms among Chinese sexual minority men, highlighting the unique role of social support in understanding depressive symptoms among Chinese sexual minority men. Providing more social support, as well as promoting accepting and positive environments, may lead to better adjustment in this population in China.
Highlights
Several studies have demonstrated that sexual minority individuals are at a greater risk for mental health disparities compared with their heterosexual peers [1,2,3,4,5,6]
These results indicate that Chinese sexual minority men felt they were receiving the most support from their friends and the least from their families, while Chinese heterosexual men perceived equivalent social support from family and friends
We found that Chinese sexual minority men reported more depressive symptoms and perceived lower social support than heterosexual men
Summary
Several studies have demonstrated that sexual minority individuals are at a greater risk for mental health disparities compared with their heterosexual peers [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Evidence from Western countries suggests that sexual minorities may be preferentially vulnerable to depressive symptoms [1,2,3,4,5], and these symptoms tend to persist throughout their life course [7]. The mental health of Chinese sexual minorities and related influencing factors remain largely unknown.
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