(PS8-9) Dating Stress Among Sexual Minority Individuals: Associations with Mental Health, Substance Use, and the Moderating Role of Identity Appraisals

The present study aimed to build understanding of the associations between dating stress, mental health, and substance use among sexual minority individuals. Although previous research findings demonstrate that dating app usage and stressful interactions with other sexual minority people are each associated with negative psychosocial outcomes, there is a dearth of research specifically examining dating stress and its implications within this population. Moreover, how one appraises their sexual minority identity may influence the implications of dating stress, as positive identity appraisals have been shown to buffer stress whereas negative identity appraisals have been shown to exacerbate stress. Using data from 530 sexual minority adults, we examined associations between dating stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, alcohol use, and cannabis use. We also investigated whether positive (i.e., identity affirmation) and negative (i.e., internalized homonegativity) identity appraisals moderated any associations between these variables. Results of multiple linear regression indicated that dating stress was positively associated with all outcome variables over and above relevant sociodemographic characteristics. There was limited support for a moderating role of identity appraisals, as higher identity affirmation buffered associations between dating stress and substance use while higher internalized homonegativity strengthened associations between dating stress and depressive symptoms. We suggest that future research utilize diverse methodologies to examine temporal associations and explore mechanisms that may explain associations between dating stress, mental health, and substance use among sexual minority populations. We encourage clinicians and relationship interventions to consider how dating stress may influence the health and well-being of sexual minority people, and how intervention may need to be tailored to consider the role of identity-related factors in these processes. For example, clinicians should consider assessing dating stress when working with sexual minority clients to help inform case conceptualization and treatment planning. Furthermore, relationship skills interventions can also be an important avenue, especially when tailored to individuals who are actively dating relative to people in established relationships who are attempting to maintain them. One key goal of intervention could be to build more adaptive coping strategies relative to things like substance use, especially among those who have more negative or less positive appraisals of their sexual minority identity.