Read the open-access Letter to the Editor.
Report
Do Genes Explain Sexual Minority Mental Health Disparities?
December 2020
The minority stress model serves as a leading model of explaining sexual and gender minority health disparities. This letter to the editor responds to a critique of the minority stress model that proposes a genetic link between sexual orientation and health. It appeared in the Archives of Sexual Behavior in December 2020.
Highlights
The minority stress model posits that societal stigma and prejudice directed at sexual minorities increase sexual minority people's exposure to stress.
The odds of adverse mental health outcomes among sexual minority people are related to the degree of exposure to stigma.
In contrast to the minority stress model, a genetic model points to a genetic disadvantage of sexual minorities.