LGBTQ+ People and COVID-19: The Importance of Resilience During a Pandemic

摘要

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately impacted people from marginalized communities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ + ) people, adding to existing social and economic inequities experienced by LGBTQ+ community members. Given the vulnerabilities of LGBTQ+ populations, it is important for researchers to identify pandemic-related stressors that may affect the psychological and physiological well-being of LGBTQ+ people and how coping and resilience strategies may mitigate or buffer the negative psychological effects of pandemic-related stressors. The present study was conducted to identify ways that researchers and helping professionals may intervene to support LGBTQ+ people during the pandemic. The study was cross-sectional and survey based, and it included 220 participants from the United States who self-identified as LGBTQ+. Using a moderated mediation model, the researchers evaluated whether resilience moderates the association between pandemic concerns and general anxiety symptoms when anxiety is included as a mediator of the effect of pandemic concerns on physiological symptoms of distress. The primary hypothesis, that higher levels of resilience would weaken the effect of pandemic concerns on anxiety, was supported and the full model was significant, F(3, 216) = 27.98, p < .001. These findings indicate that resilience buffers the negative effect of COVID-19 pandemic concerns on anxiety and other health indicators. Implications for helping professionals and advocates are discussed, particularly regarding ways that resilience may be harnessed as a way to buffer the impact of pandemic concerns on already elevated rates of distress in LGBTQ+ populations.