Minority Stress and Sheroic Coping Among Culturally Diverse Lesbian and Bisexual Female Adolescents: Intersections of Resilience

Background: Sexual minority populations disproportionately experience stress, which in turn places them at higher risk for mental health problems than their heterosexual counterparts (Kuper, Coleman, & Mustanski, 2013). However, studies demonstrate that this is not the case for Latino and Black sexual minority populations (Meyer, Dietrich & Schwartz , 2008). Latino and Black LGB individuals may possess unique sources of strength and resilience that buffer against stress-related mental health problems (Kosciw, Palmer & Kull, 2014). Although resilience has been explored among Latino and Black LGB adults, studies have yet to examine the phenomenon of resilience among culturally diverse sexual minority youth.

Methods: This qualitative study explored the experiences of stress, coping, and resilience among a sample of Hispanic/Latina, Caribbean Black, Haitian and African American cisgendered lesbian and bisexual adolescents (N=40). Participants were recruited through school-based support groups and community organizations. A semi-structured protocol based on Bowen’s (2012) approach to intersectional analysis captured participants’ meaning related to their identity constructs and elicited an understanding of the construction and interdependence of their identities. Four focus groups were conducted at urban high schools in the southeastern United States.  Using a grounded theory approach, transcripts were independently coded by three authors using open coding and the constant comparative method (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Grounding the analyses in the data led to the identification and ordering of codes, the generation of categories, and eventually to the emergence of the larger analytical concepts or themes. To enhance methodological rigor, trustworthiness measures such as member checking and peer debriefing were utilized.

Results: Participants described being lesbian or bisexual within a cultural context in which few, if any, boundaries existed between family, religion, and culture. Participants perceived that they were Betraying Family and Culture because of their sexual minority identities. This theme was further described as: (a) real or perceived transgressions of gender expectations, (b) roles violating dogmatic religious rules, and (c) emotional exclusion and taunting by family members. In the same context, the theme of SHEroic Coping describes unique forms of resilience that emerged from participant’s narratives, namely by: (a) serving as the family educator (b) being “out” in the open and (c) creating safety.

Conclusion: The findings showed that the negotiation of complex family, religious, and community environments of culturally diverse lesbian and bisexual youth are critical to understanding their resilience. Despite multiple stressors, the participants demonstrated exceptional and unique processes of resilience rooted in their intersecting gender, cultural and sexual minority identities. Recognizing resilience as a facilitative process that enables coping with hardship allows for a thorough understanding of participants’ negotiation of their gender role, sexual orientation, and cultural experiences. Finally, the process of highlighting the experiences of sexual minority youth as cultural experts in qualitative research will be explored. Implications for social work research and practice will be offered.