Thus, adapting insights from existing stress process models and the stigma literature to LGB populations, the psychological mediation framework proposes three central hypotheses: (a) sexual minorities confront increased stress exposure resulting from stigma; (b) this stigma-related stress creates elevations (relative to heterosexuals) in general emotion dysregulation, social/interpersonal problems, and cognitive processes conferring risk for psychopathology; and (c) these processes in turn mediate the relationship between stigma-related stress and psychopathology.
