TY - JOUR
T1 - Personality and its Relation to Mental and Psychosocial Health in Emerging Adult Sexual Minority Men
T2 - The P18 Cohort Study
AU - D'Avanzo, Paul A.
AU - Barton, Staci C.
AU - Kapadia, Farzana
AU - Halkitis, Perry N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/7/3
Y1 - 2017/7/3
N2 - Personality disorder and personality pathology encompass a dimension of psychological dysfunction known to severely impact multiple domains of functioning. However, there is a notable dearth of research regarding both the pervasiveness and correlates of personality pathology among young sexual minority males who themselves experience heightened mental health burdens. Using the self-report version of the Standardized Assessment of Personality-Abbreviated Scale we tested associations between distinct personality characteristics with sociodemographic and psychosocial factors as well as mental health states in a sample of 528 young (aged 21–25 years) sexual minority men. In multivariate analysis, personality traits varied significantly by race/ethnicity. Personality traits were also positively associated with psychosocial states, specifically, internalized anti-homosexual bias, level of connection with the gay community, and male body dissatisfaction, as well as mental health in the form of recent depressive and anxious symptomatology. These findings support the complex synergy which exists between personality characteristics, psychosocial conditions, and mental health burdens present among sexual minority men and support the need for an all-encompassing approach to both the study and care of this population that addresses the influences of both internal and external factors on well-being.
AB - Personality disorder and personality pathology encompass a dimension of psychological dysfunction known to severely impact multiple domains of functioning. However, there is a notable dearth of research regarding both the pervasiveness and correlates of personality pathology among young sexual minority males who themselves experience heightened mental health burdens. Using the self-report version of the Standardized Assessment of Personality-Abbreviated Scale we tested associations between distinct personality characteristics with sociodemographic and psychosocial factors as well as mental health states in a sample of 528 young (aged 21–25 years) sexual minority men. In multivariate analysis, personality traits varied significantly by race/ethnicity. Personality traits were also positively associated with psychosocial states, specifically, internalized anti-homosexual bias, level of connection with the gay community, and male body dissatisfaction, as well as mental health in the form of recent depressive and anxious symptomatology. These findings support the complex synergy which exists between personality characteristics, psychosocial conditions, and mental health burdens present among sexual minority men and support the need for an all-encompassing approach to both the study and care of this population that addresses the influences of both internal and external factors on well-being.
KW - emerging adult
KW - gay and bisexual men
KW - mental health
KW - personality
KW - urban
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U2 - 10.1080/08964289.2017.1330079
DO - 10.1080/08964289.2017.1330079
M3 - Article
C2 - 28767020
AN - SCOPUS:85026762557
VL - 43
SP - 191
EP - 199
JO - Journal of Human Stress
JF - Journal of Human Stress
SN - 0896-4289
IS - 3
ER -