African American Sexual Minority Research Articles

Racism and Heterosexism as Correlates of Psychological Distress in African American Sexual Minority Women

ABSTRACT This study examined the relations between experiences of racism and heterosexism, both external and internalized, and African American sexual minority women's psychological distress. Results indicated that racist events, heterosexist events, and internalized heterosexism each correlated positively with psychological distress; however, when examined together, only racist events and internalized heterosexism accounted for unique variance. Furthermore, internalized racism, the interaction of racist events and heterosexist events, and the interaction of internalized racism and internalized heterosexism did not predict psychological distress. The findings supported a “complex additive” multicultural-feminist oppression perspective.

Suicidal Ideation and Attempts among Sexual Minority Youths Receiving Social Services

The increased risk of suicidal ideation and attempts among sexual minority youths have been documented in studies using both convenience samples and representative community samples. However, as most youths do not access social services, these studies do not necessarily represent the sexual minority youths that community-based social workers may encounter in their day-to-day practice. As such, the present study on risk and protective factors related to suicidality surveyed 182 sexual minority youths (14 to 21 years of age) who sought assistance at a community-based social services agency in Denver. Similar to existing literature, the findings suggest that risk factors related to suicidality include hopelessness, methamphetamine use, homelessness, and in-school victimization. However, unlike studies of the general youth population, this study found that African American and male sexual minority youths were not at a lower risk of suicidality than sexual minority youths who were, respectively, white or female. In addition, our findings suggest that the presence of gay-straight alliances in schools may function as a protective resource for sexual minority youths. Implications for social work practice are discussed.