(PS8-41) Elevated Psychological Pain and Related Symptoms Among Sexual Minority Young Adults

Background

            Psychological pain denotes a painful affective experience that arises from psychological rather than physical causes (e.g., social rejection) (Meerwijk & Weiss, 2011). Psychological pain has been closely linked to depression and suicidal ideation (SI) (Conejero et al., 2018). Sexual minority individuals may be at higher risk of experiencing psychological pain, as they are often ostracized and experience higher rates of mental health concerns, including suicidality (Fulginiti et al., 2021). To our knowledge, the relationship between sexual minority status and psychological pain has not been studied. In this study, we examined the severity of psychological pain in heterosexual versus sexual minority groups. We also sought to clarify relationships between psychological pain and other psychological symptoms among sexual minority individuals, and how this may differ from heterosexual peers. 

Method

We used a cross-sectional sample of undergraduate students (N = 1,123) attending Washington University in St. Louis. Participants completed the Psychache Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and UCLA Loneliness Scale. Participants also self-identified as heterosexual or a sexual minority (homosexual, bisexual, unsure, or other). Approximately 15% of the sample identified as a sexual minority (n = 147). We ran a simple linear regression to examine the relationship between sexual minority status and psychological pain, and a multiple linear regression to examine sexual minority status, depression, and loneliness as relative predictors of psychological pain. Interaction effects between sexual minority status, depression, and loneliness were investigated to assess potential group differences in correlates of psychological pain.

Results

 In the simple linear regression, sexual minority status significantly predicted psychological pain (b = 6.20, p < .001, R² = .05). In the multiple regression analysis, sexual minority status remained a small but statistically significant predictor of psychological pain when accounting for depression and loneliness (b = 2.08, p < .001, R² = .50). Finally, we observed a significant interaction between loneliness and psychological pain (b = 2.46, p < .001) such that the relationship between loneliness and psychological pain was stronger among sexual minority versus heterosexual individuals. The association between depression and psychological pain did not differ across groups (b = -0.62, p = .23).

Discussion

            Our findings suggest that sexual minority individuals may be more likely to report elevated psychological pain compared to heterosexual peers. Given increased risk of SI in this population, future research should investigate psychological pain as a dynamic risk factor for SI among sexual minority individuals. Interestingly, psychological pain was more strongly correlated with loneliness for sexual minority individuals than heterosexual peers. Though cross-sectional, our findings suggest loneliness may be an important target for reducing psychological pain among sexual minority individuals. Further longitudinal research is needed to elucidate this link and treatment implications.