Unpacking the Roles of Psychological and Social Well-Being in Minority Stress: Everyday Discrimination and Life Satisfaction Among Sexual Minority Adults

Background/Purpose: Research on how everyday discrimination influences life satisfaction in sexual minority adults is a missing piece in the literature. Existing minority stress models have not illuminated how minority stress impacts this type of subjective well-being. While existing psychological mediation models identify mental and social processes as pathways explaining how stress predicts psychopathology, the relationships between psychological factors and social factors remain unclear and do not address subjective well-being. This study examines the psychosocial mechanism in the relationship between everyday discrimination and life satisfaction that can enhance the utility of the minority stress model by identifying modifiable targets for social work intervention. Thus, we analyzed the relationships between everyday discrimination, psychological and social well-being, and life satisfaction with a focus on mediation modeling.
Methods: Data and samples: We used a nationwide secondary dataset from the Generations from 2016 to 2019. Three waves of data on a sample of 612 sexual minority adults in the U.S. were adopted. Measures: Standardized scales were used. Everyday discrimination, mental disability, social well-being, and life satisfaction were measured using the Everyday Discrimination Scale, Kessler-6, Social Well-Being Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale, respectively. Analysis: Weight for longitudinal analysis provided by the Generations was applied. Employing structural equation modeling, separate mediation models and a chain mediation model were conducted using R. Demographics and focal variables at T1 were controlled in data analysis.
Results: Everyday discrimination (T1) significantly influences life satisfaction (T3) (β = -0.268, p = 0.005, 95% CI: [-0.455, -0.081]). In the mediation model of mental disability (χ² (2) = 4.331, p = 0.115; CFI = 0.994; TLI = 0.920; RMSEA = 0.044; SRMR = 0.008), mental disability (T2) fully mediates the relationship between everyday discrimination (T1) and life satisfaction (T3) (β = -0.083, p=0.004, 95% CI: [-0.138, -0.027]). In the mediation model of social well-being (χ² (2) = 2.528, p=0.282; CFI = 0.998; TLI = 0.976; RMSEA = 0.021; SRMR = 0.042), social well-being (T2) partially mediates this relationship in two separate models (β = -0.037, p = 0.026, 95% CI: [-0.069, -0.004]). In the chain mediation model (χ² (6) = 5.943, p = 0.430; CFI = 1.000; TLI = 1.001; RMSEA = 0.000; SRMR = 0.012), we further corroborate that social well-being is a preceding indicator of mental disability and life satisfaction (β = -0.011, p = 0.047, 95% CI: [-0.023, -0.000]).
Conclusions and Implications: This study empirically shows how minority stress influences sexual minority adults’ life satisfaction, extending beyond mental health to subjective well-being. Both social well-being and psychological well-being serve as critical mediators between minority stress and life satisfaction, while social well-being is a preceding mediator. The unpacked roles of social well-being and psychological well-being in mediating everyday discrimination and life satisfaction enhance the nuanced understanding of psychosocial mechanisms and processes. Namely, social well-being is proximal to reacting to discrimination and translating it to worse mental health and well-being. Practitioners are encouraged to focus on social well-being to prevent mental issues and improve the overall well-being of this population.