Curvilinear associations between sexual orientation and problematic substance use, behavioural addictions and mental health among young Swiss men

Minority Stressors, Social Provisions, and Past-Year Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts in a Sample of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression Minority People in Canada

Purpose: Mental health disparities in sexual orientation and/or gender identity and/or expression (SOGIE) minority groups are well-documented, with research consistently showing higher levels of suicidality, even in Canada, considered one of the world's most accepting countries of SOGIE minority groups. Adverse outcomes in these groups are often framed using minority stress theory, with social support frequently studied as an integral buffer to these outcomes. This analysis explores facets of minority stress and social support associated with past-year suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Methods: A cross-sectional internet survey of SOGIE diverse people in Canada (n = 1542) was conducted. Binary logistic regression calculated bivariate and multivariate factors associated with past-year suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Backward elimination (retaining sociodemographic factors and self-rated mental health) identified salient minority stress and social support (provisions) factors. Results: Over half (56.72%) of participants had ever thought of dying by suicide, with 24.84% having attempted suicide. During the past year, 26.80% had thought of dying by suicide, with 5.32% having attempted suicide. Victimization events, and guidance (e.g., someone to talk to about important decisions) and attachment (e.g., close relationships providing emotional security) social provision subscales remained salient after backward elimination procedures. Conclusion: Our findings emphasize that a fulsome, multilevel approach considering structural, community, and individual strategies to address overt discrimination, integrating social connections and guidance, is necessary to prevent dying by suicide.

Problem Gambling and Sexual Minority Individuals: Evaluating Influence of Age and Comorbid Mental Health and Substance Use Problems

Little is known about the prevalence of problem gambling among sexual minority individuals. The present study utilized an epidemiological sample, including individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, and pansexual, to explore gambling behavior and problems and associated mental health and comorbid conditions that may contribute to elevated risk. Bivariate comparisons found that sexual minority individuals had higher rates of problem gambling, alcohol and substance use problems, anxiety, depression, and a wide range of problem behaviors (e.g., binge eating, prostitution, excessive video gaming) than heterosexuals. In a logistic regression, age moderated the relationship between sexual minority status and problem gambling, such that the risk for high-risk problem gambling increased with age for sexual minority individuals while it decreased for heterosexuals. Additionally, a logistic regression of sexual minority individuals who gamble found anxiety (OR = 3.80, 95% CI = 1.03, 13.97) and drug problems (OR = 8.57, 95% CI = 1.79, 41.05) predicted high-risk problem gambling. Findings suggest that prevention and screening protocols are needed in systems accessed by sexual minority individuals, particularly those middle age and older, as well as in settings where anxiety and substance use disorders are treated.

Substance use in sexual minority youth: prevalence in an urban cohort

BACKGROUND

Little comparative data on substance use (SU) between sexual minority youth (SMY) and heterosexual youth (HET) is available. This study compares the prevalence of SU in an urban cohort between SMY and HET and evaluates demographic and psychosocial predictors of SU.

METHODS

Data came from a prospective-longitudinal cohort study in an urban setting (N = 1297). SU and psychosocial variables such as internalizing symptoms, self-control, sensation-seeking, bullying-victimization, subjective stress, leisure activities, and peer influences were assessed with self-reports at age 17 and 20. SU was stratified by sex and sexual attraction, and the groups were compared using regression models, with demographic and psychosocial variables included as covariates.

RESULTS

SMY- and HET-youth displayed differences in a number of psychosocial variables. Overall, SMY- and HET-youth differed in their 12-months prevalence of SU: At age 17, SMY-females had significantly higher rates of SU than HET-females for cannabis (aOR = 2.14, p = 0.04), ecstasy/MDMA (aOR = 4.29, p = 0.01), and hallucinogens (aOR = 5.59, p = 0.02). At age 20, SMY-females had significantly higher rates of SU than HET-females for tobacco (aOR = 2.06, p = 0.03), cannabis (aOR = 2.24, p = 0.004), ecstasy/MDMA (aOR = 3.93, p < 0.001), stimulants (aOR = 3.45, p = 0.002), and hallucinogens (aOR = 6.65, p < 0.001). SMY-males reported significantly lower rates for tobacco and cannabis than HET-males at age 17. At age 20, they reported significantly higher rates for the use of ecstasy/MDMA (aOR = 2.30, p = 0.04) and hallucinogens (aOR = 2.43, p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Given that psychosocial variables were significant covariates of SMY-status and SU, our results underline the importance of accounting for these when explaining differences in SU between adolescents. While differentiation by sex is established in most studies, such standardized comparisons are lacking with regards to sexual identities. But knowledge about SU of SMY is critical for designing effective interventions. This is especially true for SMY-females: Thus, SU in SMY-females early in life needs to be explored more thoroughly and addressed with adequate prevention measures.

Problem gambling within sexual and gender minorities: A systematic review

A body of literature now suggests that sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) experience a distinct set of stressors in the form of minority stress, which may function as a risk factor for the development of negative psychological and behavioral health outcomes. A systematic review of the literature was conducted through June 1st, 2022. Inclusion was limited to peer-reviewed publications in academic journals, with prospective and retrospective studies of a quantitative nature included for synthesis. Articles were required to contain an empirical measure of gambling cognitions, behaviors, motives, or outcomes. Studies that did not include sexual minorities within the sample or did not provide quantitative results which shed light on gambling in sexual minorities were excluded from the present review.In total, 12 eligible studies were identified for the current review. In general, this review highlighted methodological weaknesses within the literature and suggested that little is known about gambling in this population. Given conflicting findings across studies, further research is necessary to understand gambling in sexual and gender minorities. From a methodological standpoint, there is a need for clearer conceptualization and standardized measurement of gambling-related variables in vulnerable populations. Further, longitudinal research would be beneficial to understand the nuances of gambling disorder across sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as aid in the development of holistic intervention options that meet the needs of these more vulnerable groups.

Causal Influences of Same-Sex Attraction on Psychological Distress and Risky Sexual Behaviors: Evidence for Bidirectional Effects

Although health disparities among same-sex attracted compared to heterosexual individuals are typically explained by minority stress, there is limited evidence for a causal effect. This study investigated whether same-sex attraction was causally associated with psychological distress and risky sexual behavior using sociosexual behavior as a proxy. The sample comprised monozygotic and dizygotic twins and their non-twin siblings (n = 2036, 3780 and 2356, respectively) genotyped and assessed for same-sex attraction, psychological distress (anxiety and depressive symptoms), and risky sexual behavior. Causal influences were investigated with same-sex attraction as the predictor and psychological distress and risky sexual behavior as the outcomes in two separate Mendelian Randomization-Direction of Causation (MRDoC) models using OpenMx in R. The MRDoC model improves on the Mendelian Randomization and Direction of Causation twin models by allowing analyses of variables with similar genetic architectures, incorporating polygenic scores as instrumental variables and specifying pleiotropy and residual covariance. There were significant causal influences flowing from same-sex attraction to psychological distress and risky sexual behavior (standardized coefficients = 0.13 and 0.16; 95% CIs 0.03-0.23 and 0.08-0.25, respectively). Further analyses also demonstrated causal influences flowing from psychological distress and risky sexual behavior toward same-sex attraction. Causal influences from same-sex attraction to psychological distress and risky sexual behavior may reflect minority stress, which reinforces ongoing measures to minimize social disparities. Causal influences flowing in the opposite direction may reflect rejection sensitivity, stigma-inducing outcomes of risky sexual behavior, and recall bias; however, further research is required to specifically investigate these processes.

Problematic Smartphone Use and Its Associations with Sexual Minority Stressors, Gender Nonconformity, and Mental Health Problems among Young Adult Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals in Taiwan

Smartphones are a necessity for many people; however, problematic smartphone use (PSU) may negatively influence people’s mental health. Using multivariate linear regression analysis, the study examined the associations of sexual minority stressors [namely perceived sexual stigma from family members, sexual orientation microaggressions (SOMs), and internalized sexual stigma] and gender nonconformity with PSU severity as well as the associations of PSU with depression and anxiety in young adult lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. This cross-sectional survey study recruited 1000 young adult LGB individuals (500 men and 500 women). PSU severity was assessed using the Smartphone Addiction Inventory. The experiences of perceived sexual stigma from family members, SOMs, and internalized sexual stigma and the levels of gender nonconformity, depression, and anxiety were assessed. The results indicated that perceived sexual stigma from family members, SOMs, internalized sexual stigma in the dimensions of social discomfort and identity and gender nonconformity were significantly associated with PSU severity in LGB individuals. Moreover, PSU was significantly associated with depression and anxiety in LGB individuals. The findings highlight the significance of developing strategies for the prevention and early detection of PSU and sexual minority stress in LGB individuals.

Sexual Minority Orientation Is Associated With Greater Psychological Impact Due to the COVID-19 Crisis-Evidence From a Longitudinal Cohort Study of Young Swiss Men

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its countermeasures may have had a significant impact on the psychological well-being of specific population subgroups. The present study investigated whether sexual minority men (defined here as attracted partly or exclusively to men) from an ongoing cohort study of young Swiss men experienced different psychological impacts, levels of substance use and addictive behaviors, and to which degree pre-existing vulnerabilities and participants experiences during the crisis might explain these differences.

Methods: An ongoing cohort sample based on the general population of young Swiss men (mean age = 29.07 years; SD = 1.27) was assessed before and during the COVID-19 crisis for depression, stress, sleep quality, substance use and addictive behaviors. Additionally, during the crisis, we assessed its impact in form of fear, isolation and traumatic experiences. Potential associations between these outcomes and sexual orientation (sexual minority vs. heterosexual) were tested using linear regression models. It was additionally estimated to which degree these associations were attenuated if adjusted for differences in mental health, personality and socioeconomic status before the crisis, as well as the experience of the COVID-19 crisis (infection with the virus and changes to work situation).

Results: Compared to heterosexual men, sexual minority men showed higher levels of psychological trauma (b = 0.37 [0.25, 0.49]), fear (b = 0.18 [0.06, 0.30]) and isolation (b = 0.32 [0.20, 0.44]) due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as higher levels of depression (b = 0.31 [0.20, 0.41]) and lower sleep quality (b = −0.13 [−0.24, −0.02]) during the crisis. These differences were to a large degree explained by higher pre-crisis levels of mental health problems and the personality dimension of neuroticism-anxiety. Sexual minority men showed higher overall levels of substance use and addictive behaviors, but these differences were already present before the crisis.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 crisis may have worsened pre-existing vulnerabilities in sexual minority men, leading to its greater psychological impact on them than on heterosexual men. Reducing minority stress due to sexual orientation may help not only to improve mental health among important proportions of the population but also to reduce their vulnerability to crises. Services offering psychological support to sexual minorities may need to be reinforced during crises.

The Significance of EEG Alpha Oscillation Spectral Power and Beta Oscillation Phase Synchronization for Diagnosing Probable Alzheimer Disease

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in geriatric population. At present, no effective treatments exist to reverse the progress of AD, however, early diagnosis and intervention might delay its progression. The search for biomarkers with good safety, repeatable detection, reliable sensitivity and community application is necessary for AD screening and early diagnosis and timely intervention. Electroencephalogram (EEG) examination is a non-invasive, quantitative, reproducible, and cost-effective technique which is suitable for screening large population for possible AD. The power spectrum, complexity and synchronization characteristics of EEG waveforms in AD patients have distinct deviation from normal elderly, indicating these EEG features can be a promising candidate biomarker of AD. However, current reported deviation results are inconsistent, possibly due to multiple factors such as diagnostic criteria, sample sizes and the use of different computational measures. In this study, we collected two neurological tests scores (MMSE and MoCA) and the resting-state EEG of 30 normal control elderly subjects (NC group) and 30 probable AD patients confirmed by Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomography (PiB-PET) inspection (AD group). We calculated the power spectrum, spectral entropy and phase synchronization index features of these two groups’ EEG at left/right frontal, temporal, central and occipital brain regions in 4 frequency bands: δ oscillation (1–4 Hz), θ oscillation (4–8 Hz), α oscillation (8–13 Hz), and β oscillation (13–30 Hz). In most brain areas, we found that the AD group had significant differences compared to NC group: (1) decreased α oscillation power and increased θ oscillation power; (2) decreased spectral entropy in α oscillation and elevated spectral entropy in β oscillation; and (3) decrease phase synchronization index in δ, θ, and β oscillation. We also found that α oscillation spectral power and β oscillation phase synchronization index correlated well with the MMSE/MoCA test scores in AD groups. Our study suggests that these two EEG features might be useful metrics for population screening of probable AD patients.