A new study conducted by scientists at Åbo Akademi University, Finland, shows that sexual minority individuals continue to report higher levels of mental health symptoms compared to the rest of the population.

Previous research has repeatedly shown that sexual minority individuals report worse mental health than heterosexual individuals. These differences are, for example, observable so that sexual minority individuals report more symptoms of depression and anxiety, consume more alcohol, and experience more sexuality-related distress. The study used four waves of population-based panel data collected in Finland in 2006, 2012, 2019 and 2022 to investigate change in mental health symptoms over the 16-year-long study period.

No simple explanations

There is no simple answer to why sexual minorities experience worse mental health compared to heterosexual individuals. But one of the leading theories, namely the minority stress theory, posits that these differences are at least partly attributable to the fact that sexual minority individuals experience unique stressors in their day-to-day lives because of their sexual orientation.

– Minority stress includes, among other things, experiences of discrimination, negative attitudes, and worrying that they will be treated negatively or differently because they are not heterosexual. In addition, research suggest that both early childhood experiences and genetic factors could contribute to worse mental health among sexual minorities, says Marianne Källström, who led the study and is a PhD student and university lecturer at the Department of Psychology at Åbo Akademi University.

The study showed that symptoms of anxiety and depression increased among both sexual minority individuals and their heterosexual counterparts over the course of the study, between 2006 and 2022, which means that people regardless of sexual orientation report worse mental health at present compared to 16 years ago.

– It was, however, remarkable that the gap in mental health between sexual minority and heterosexual individuals has not shrunk over the past decade and a half despite societal changes that should improve sexual minorities’ lives (e.g., legislation introduced to improve the sociolegal status of sexual minorities, such as the bill legalizing same-sex marriage passed in 2014), says Ida Pedersen, who wrote her Master’s thesis in psychology in the project.

Decrease in alcohol use, same amount of negative feelings

Alcohol use declined among both sexual minorities and heterosexual individuals over the course of the study. That is, people drink less today than they did 16 years ago, irrespective of their sexual orientation. The study showed, however, that sexual minority individuals continue to consume more alcohol than heterosexual individuals at each of the study’s measurement points.

– Alcohol use is associated with poorer mental health, so it is good news from a public health point of view that alcohol use has declined even though symptoms of anxiety and depression have increased.

Sexual distress was also more prevalent among sexual minority individuals at all measurement points but has not increased or decreased over the course of the study period in neither sexual minorities nor their heterosexual counterparts. To summarize, the study indicated that sexual minority individuals are still more vulnerable in terms of mental health issues compared to heterosexual individuals.

The results of the study suggest that it is still important to continue working towards equality and to improve sexual minority individuals’ health. It is also important to continue research efforts to understand the causes of mental health issues among sexual minorities and figure out ways to improve mental health in this demographic.

– Even though society has taken several steps to improve sexual minority individuals’ lives since the beginning of the century, the mental health gap persists. This could at least partly be explained by the fact that sexual minorities still experience negative attitudes and unequal treatment, which maintains a vulnerability to mental health issues, says Källström.

The study about developments in sexual minorities’ mental health between 2006 and 2022 is published in Psychological Medicine and can be read here: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725102626