Abstract
This study aims to uncover the impact that stress, resilience and intersectionality have on LGBTQIA+ college students’ mental health. The research question focuses on these factors’ influence on mental well-being in this population, individually and collectively. The study suggests a hypothetical mixed-methods survey, which will measure quantitative data through stress resilience and mental health status surveys and qualitative interviews that provide more information on personal experiences of intersectionality. The hypothetical example has LGBTQIA+ students from various institutions. Research findings suggest an intricate interplay between stress, resilience and intersectionality: high levels of anxiety negatively impact mental health, while factors associated with resilience provide some protective benefits. Intersectionality is a critical factor that influences individuals’ stress levels and resilience. This complexity is emphasized in research that requires specialized mental health care. The results of the research are aimed at increasing awareness about mental health issues among the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as suggesting recommendations for supporting their welfare in academic environments.
Introduction
Psychological health remains a primary concern for undergraduates; this is more relevant to LGBTQIA+ individuals. This population often faces specific challenges that may affect their mental well-being. LGBTQIA+ people are diagnosed with mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety at disproportionately higher rates than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. This difference is often credited to incidents such as social isolation, stigma, and discrimination that are prevalent among most queer people. These problems can further be compounded by the school change that forces new social situations, academic challenges and, for some people, even the coming–of–age process.
In this case, intersectionality, which can be described as a framework that analyses how individual components of one’s character (race, gender, sexuality and socioeconomic level) intersect to create unique instances of discrimination and privilege, is crucial. Intersectionality allows LGBTQIA+ college students to understand how multilevel identities reinforce one another and can exacerbate stress, either for better or worse. For example, the issues faced by a black lesbian student can be very different from those of a white gay one to necessitate innovative strategies in addressing mental health needs.
This study centres around the exploration question: The goal is to interpret the complex dynamic nature that results from these factors and their combined effect on the mental health of LGBTQIA+ students.
The study’s strength is that it enabled researchers to provide more information regarding the specific emotional needs of LGBTQIA+ students. This study aims to provide better and population-based mental health interventions and support systems in academic settings by exploring the role of stress and resilience on intersectional identities. Understanding these aspects is necessary to develop comprehensive approaches that identify the barriers for such pupils and impact their peculiar characteristics and adaptability factors. In turn, the findings of such a study concerning mental health and overall well-being may impact a vast number of people.
Methods
The suggested research employs a mixed-methodologies approach, which is based on the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to have an in-depth understanding of how stress, resilience, and intersectionally contribute to mental health decline among LGBTQIA+ students from colleges. This two-pronged approach makes it possible to gather much quantitative data in surveys and derive intensive qualitative information through personal interviews. Using a probabilistic non-sample approach, this study’s quantitative component will look at LGBTQIA+ college students from various American colleges. It ensures that participants come from various backgrounds—racial, gendered, sexual or socioeconomic. The aim sample size for this phase should be about 300 participants as it balances the need to gather diverse data on one hand and in-depth analysis on another.
An online survey will be conducted to gather quantitative data. The study will also use standard instruments recognized by their reliability and stability in measuring the growth of likings. The PSS, or Perceived Stress Scale, will serve as a measure to determine the stress level among participants. The resilience assessment will use the RSA (Resilient Scale for Adults). Similarly, the Succinct Aftereffect Stock (BSI) will be integrated to quantify pain perception and cases of psychopathology. These tools were selected because they are commonly used in mental research and can be administered to that population.
During the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with some survey participants. This subset will contain 30 individuals who express preparation for extra venture and address various characters. The interviews will investigate personal narratives and experiences related to stress, resilience, and intersectionality to provide context and depth to the quantitative findings.
The procedure for data collection starts with the appropriation of the web-based review. Various channels will be used to distribute participation invitations, including LGBTQIA+ clubs at universities, social media platforms, and relevant online communities. Support will be intentional, accentuating confidentiality and anonymity to guarantee sincere reactions. Participants willing to engage further will be contacted for the qualitative interviews following the survey phase. These meetings will be led practically, utilizing secure video conferencing apparatuses to work with openness and keep up with member protection. Quantitative and subjective information will be anonymized and safely put away to safeguard member privacy and follow ethical research standards.
Results
Types of Analysis
Statistical software will be used to analyze quantitative data. An overview of the sample’s characteristics, stress levels, resilience, and mental health status will be provided by descriptive statistics. Inferential measurements, including numerous relapse investigations, will be utilized to analyze the connections between stress, versatility, and psychological wellness. The moderating effects of resilience on the relationship between stress and mental health will be evaluated using interaction terms in regression models.
For qualitative data, topical examination will be performed. This will include coding the meeting records to distinguish normal subjects, especially zeroing in on private stories that enlighten the effect of variedness on the encounters of pressure and versatility.
Hypothetical Findings are supposed to uncover the reality that more elevated levels of pressure are associated essentially with less fortunate emotional wellness results among LGBTQIA+ undergrads. Flexibility factors, for example, solid, encouraging groups of people and cheerful character insistence, are likely related to bettering psychological well-being, possibly buffering the unfavourable impacts of pressure.
Regarding intersectionality, the discoveries could demonstrate that understudies with numerous underestimated personalities experience more elevated pressure levels because of intensified separation and social rejection. On the other hand, these students may also exhibit distinctive resilience strategies that they have honed by navigating intricate social dynamics (Kulick et al., 2016).In addition, it is anticipated that thematic analysis of qualitative data will provide deep and nuanced insights into these students’ real-world experiences. Stories might feature explicit difficulties connected with interconnected personalities, like bigotry inside the LGBTQIA+ people group or heteronormativity inside their racial or ethnic networks. On the other hand, accounts of versatility might underline the significance of comprehensive, interconnected, emotionally supportive networks.
Discussion
The hypothetical findings of this study present a complex and varied image of the mental well-being difficulties and flexibility components among LGBTQIA+ college students, highlighted by the primary job of diversity. These outcomes are especially uncovering about existing writing, which has reliably featured the raised gamble of emotional well-being issues in the LGBTQIA+ people group because of elements like societal stigma, discrimination, and the difficulties of exploring a prevalently heteronormative society (Juang et al., 2016). The critical connection between high feelings of anxiety and poor emotional well-being results in our review repeats these discoveries, adding exact load to the requirement for designated emotional wellness mediations in this segment.
As expected, resilience emerges as a crucial shield against difficulties with mental health. This aligns with a resilience framework that emphasizes the significance of personal and community resilience factors in reducing stressor effects (Masten et al., 2021). The review’s discoveries propose that flexibility, encouraged through strong organizations, positive self-personality, and survival methods, can significantly upgrade the psychological prosperity of LGBTQIA+ understudies. This is especially significant in the context of college environments, where students are navigating new social dynamics and personal identities.
The consolidation of diversity in the review’s research gives further bits of knowledge. The discoveries recommend that college students who meet minimized characters experience gripping and intensified pressure. This highlights the need for varied and diverse methodologies in psychological wellness support, as encounters of pressure and strength still need to be solidly changed across various multifaceted personalities.
These findings call for a comprehensive and inclusive approach to mental health support on college campuses, which has practical implications. This includes preparing psychological well-being experts to understand the particular difficulties faced by LGBTQIA+ understudies, particularly those with different underestimated personalities (House et al., 2019). Additionally, it is essential to create campus policies, advocacy programs, and peer support systems that recognize and address these students’ particular requirements. Such drives offer direct help and add to making a more comprehensive and confirming grounds climate. Despite the study’s insightful findings, its limitations must be acknowledged. Biases like social desirability and recall bias may result from the quantitative phase’s reliance on self-report measures. While giving top-to-bottom bits of knowledge, the subjective part could experience the ill effects of an absence of generalizability because of the purposive examining technique and the moderately small example size. In addition, it is difficult to infer causal relationships between stress, resilience, intersectionality, and mental health outcomes due to the study’s cross-sectional design.
A more dynamic comprehension of how these factors interact over time could be provided by adopting longitudinal study designs for future research. Another promising area of research would be to examine the effectiveness of specific interventions to improve LGBTQIA+ college students’ resilience and stress reduction. A more profound comprehension of these issues in various educational contexts could also be provided by broadening the scope to include a variety of educational settings, such as various colleges and vocational schools.
In conclusion, this research can be regarded as a meaningful addition to the knowledge base on mental health issues of LGBTQIA+ college students whom mainstream psychologists usually ignore. By finding connections between stress, resilience, and intersectionality, the research demonstrates how mental health problems are related to students’ experiences. The findings portray that stress, primarily driven by societal prejudice and discrimination, produces negative impacts on mental health; resilience factors can act as significant agents in minimizing these effects. Additionally, the research highlights intersectionality, pointing out that students with several marginalized identities can have higher levels of stress, requiring an approach to focusing on their mental health.
This study advocates for a paradigm shift in the mode of mental health services to LGBTQIA+ students from college environments. It highlights inclusive, intersectionality-based, and resilience-oriented mental health practices. It is not merely about increasing individual well-being but also a way of creating better and more inclusive academic surroundings. Additionally, the methodological limitations of this study, such as using self-reported data and being unable to generalize from its qualitative component, require further research. Future studies using longitudinal designs and a more varied population can offer additional details to gain more profound knowledge about this phenomenon and facilitate the development of better intervention strategies.
References
House, L. A., Neal, C., & Kolb, J. (2019). Supporting the Mental Health Needs of First Generation College Students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 34(2), 157–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2019.1578940
Juang, L., Ittel, A., Hoferichter, F., & Miriam Gallarin, M. (2016). Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Adjustment Among Ethnically Diverse College Students: Family and Peer Support as Protective Factors. Journal of College Student Development, 57(4), 380–394. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/619490/summary
Kulick, A., Wernick, L. J., Woodford, M. R., & Renn, K. (2016). Heterosexism, Depression, and Campus Engagement Among LGBTQ College Students: Intersectional Differences and Opportunities for Healing. Journal of Homosexuality, 64(8), 1125–1141. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1242333
Masten, A. S., Lucke, C. M., Nelson, K. M., & Stallworthy, I. C. (2021). Resilience in Development and Psychopathology: Multisystem Perspectives. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-081219-120307
Strijker, D., Bosworth, G., & Bouter, G. (2020). Research methods in rural studies: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Journal of Rural Studies, 78(1), 262–270. ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.06.007
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