- Feb 5, 2002
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COMMENTARY: The social changes in the past 30 years have not actually improved the mental health of the people who were supposed to be helped.
The social acceptance of homosexual behavior has greatly increased over the past 30 years. In that time, the United States has changed the definition of marriage, the structures of the military, the curriculum of our public schools and the objectives of our foreign policy.
Many people supported these changes because they thought this greater social acceptance would make self-identified gays and lesbians feel better. I propose that we stop and ask: Have these changes actually improved the mental health of the people who were supposed to be helped?
No serious researcher in this arena denies that the rates of psychological distress are higher for self-described gay men and lesbian women than for everyone else. The measures that have been studied include substance abuse disorders, affective disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, self-harm, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies. Researchers across the board agree on these basic facts. The only question is why.
One common explanation for the poorer mental health of non-heterosexuals is called the “minority stress theory.” Unjust discrimination explains the differences between the mental health of people who are exclusively heterosexual and everyone else.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
The social acceptance of homosexual behavior has greatly increased over the past 30 years. In that time, the United States has changed the definition of marriage, the structures of the military, the curriculum of our public schools and the objectives of our foreign policy.
Many people supported these changes because they thought this greater social acceptance would make self-identified gays and lesbians feel better. I propose that we stop and ask: Have these changes actually improved the mental health of the people who were supposed to be helped?
No serious researcher in this arena denies that the rates of psychological distress are higher for self-described gay men and lesbian women than for everyone else. The measures that have been studied include substance abuse disorders, affective disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, self-harm, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies. Researchers across the board agree on these basic facts. The only question is why.
One common explanation for the poorer mental health of non-heterosexuals is called the “minority stress theory.” Unjust discrimination explains the differences between the mental health of people who are exclusively heterosexual and everyone else.
Continued below.
Is LGBT Persons’ Mental Health Improving?
COMMENTARY: The social changes in the past 30 years have not actually improved the mental health of the people who were supposed to be helped.
