Research has documented two broad classes of determinants of psychiatric morbidity in LGB populations. The first has focused on unique risk factors, in the form of stress exposure resulting from stigma-related processes. Several lines of evidence indicate that sexual minorities experience greater exposure to stress than heterosexuals—including workplace employment and discrimination (Badgett et al., 2007) and victimization (Balsam et al., 2005; Russell et al., 2001; Tjaden et al., 1999)—and that this increased stress exposure may account for higher rates of psychopathology among sexual minorities (Mays & Cochran, 2001).
