There is a large literature on the role of social support in buffering against the deleterious effects of stress on mental health (Cohen & Willis, 1985; Kawachi & Berkman, 2001), and research with sexual minorities has demonstrated the importance of parental/family (Goldfried & Goldfried, 2001), school (e.g., presence of Gay-Straight Alliances; Walls et al., 2008), and peer (Radkowsky & Siegel, 1997) support in protecting against adverse mental health outcomes. Although research has examined social support as a protective mechanism for sexual minorities, there has been less investigation of low social support as a possible consequence of exposure to stigma-related stress. Many individuals turn to others for support in times of stress (Kawachi & Berkman, 2001). Stigma-related stress, in contrast, could actually diminish social support among sexual minorities because it may lead them to isolate themselves from others in order to avoid future rejection (Link, Struening, Rahav, Phelan, & Nuttbrock, 1997).
