Effects of general and sexual minority-specific COVID-19-related stressors on the mental health of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Hong Kong

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health has begun to be widely recognized. While the mental health of socially marginalized groups has been examined, there is an absence of studies on how the mental health of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people have been affected. 857 LGB people in Hong Kong participated in a community-based survey study. Over one-fourth of them met the criteria for probable clinical depression (31.5%) and generalized anxiety disorder (27.9%). Besides general stressors, we identified sexual minority-specific stressors during the pandemic. 4.2% of the participants indicated that they had frequently experienced family conflict related to sexual orientation. One-third responded that they had largely reduced connection to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) community (34.7%). The results showed that sexual minority-specific COVID-19-related stressors significantly contributed to the variance explained in depressive and anxiety symptoms, beyond the contribution of general COVID-19-related stressors. Since LGB people are particularly vulnerable to poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, LGB people-targeting organizations need to understand more about family, space and privacy concerns in order to provide better support, and LGB safe spaces and shelters may be needed as a policy response. Copyright © 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.