Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Depression and Sexual Orientation During Young Adulthood: Diversity Among Sexual Minority Subgroups and the Role of Gender Nonconformity

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sexual minority individuals are at an elevated risk for depression compared to their heterosexual counterparts, yet less is known about how depression status varies across sexual minority subgroups (i.e., mostly heterosexuals, bisexuals, and lesbians and gay men). Moreover, studies on the role of young adult gender nonconformity in the relation between sexual orientation and depression are scarce and have yielded mixed findings. The current study examined the disparities between sexual minorities and heterosexuals during young adulthood in concurrent depression near the beginning of young adulthood and prospective depression 6 years later, paying attention to the diversity within sexual minority subgroups and the role of gender nonconformity. Drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 9421), we found that after accounting for demographics, sampling weight, and sampling design, self-identified mostly heterosexual and bisexual young adults, but not lesbians and gay men, reported significantly higher concurrent depression compared to heterosexuals; moreover, only mostly heterosexual young adults were more depressed than heterosexuals 6 years later. Furthermore, while young adult gender nonconforming behavior was associated with more concurrent depression regardless of sexual orientation, its negative impact on mental health decreased over time. Surprisingly, previous gender nonconformity predicted decreased prospective depression among lesbians and gay men whereas, among heterosexual individuals, increased gender nonconformity was not associated with prospective depression. Together, the results suggested the importance of investigating diversity and the influence of young adult gender nonconformity in future research on the mental health of sexual minorities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. We note that Tukey’s HSD did not control for sex differences. After accounting for sex, lesbians and gay men were no longer different in gender nonconformity than mostly heterosexuals or bisexuals, while mostly heterosexuals became significantly more gender nonconforming than heterosexuals. The difference in the findings was due to that (1) males were more gender nonconforming than females in this sample, and (2) the male-to-female ratio was smaller in mostly heterosexuals and bisexuals and larger in lesbians and gay men than in heterosexuals. We note that the sex ratio by sexual orientation groups in Add Health is consistent with other U.S. national samples (e.g., Austin et al., 2004; Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005). Detailed statistical information is available from the corresponding author upon request.

  2. We note that our finding was at odds with Marshal et al.’s (2013), which analyzed developmental change in depression by sexual orientation in Add Health using latent growth curve modeling, and reported “… all sexual minority groups had significantly higher mean depressive symptom levels at Wave I than the heterosexual group.…On average, depressive symptoms did not significantly change across time (i.e., the slope means were not significantly different from zero) for any of the sexual orientation groups; however, the disparities across groups were maintained due to the differences at Wave I” (p. 1248). To interpret their different finding, we notice several methodological differences between the two studies. First, we acknowledge differences in modeling approach (Marshal et al., 2013 used maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard errors whereas we used ordinary least squares regression). Second, Marshal et al. used the Wave 4 sexual identity measure whereas we used the measure from Wave 3. We recognize that among participants who identified as heterosexual and lesbian/gay at Wave 3, approximately 7 and 15 % of them, respectively, had chosen a different sexual identity label at Wave 4, and some others changed into the heterosexual and lesbian/gay categories from Wave 3 to Wave 4 (Savin-Williams, Joyner, & Rieger, 2012). This illustrates a problem inherent to any study that wishes to categorize people using sexual minority labels at a single time point. Third, our study was limited to participants who have a valid sampling weight for the longitudinal analysis involving Waves 1–4 (N = 9421; Chen & Chantala, 2014) whereas the Marshal et al. (2013) study excluded adolescents in outlying age groups at Wave 1 (n = 1996) and reported a total N of 12,379 (which indicates that they did not make adjustments using standard sampling weights).

References

  • Alanko, K., Santtila, P., Harlaar, N., Witting, K., Varjonen, M., Jern, P., … Sandnabba, N. K. (2010). Common genetic effects of gender atypical behavior in childhood and sexual orientation in adulthood: A study of Finnish twins. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 81–92.

  • Alanko, K., Santtila, P., Witting, K., Varjonen, M., Jern, P., Johansson, A., … Sandnabba, N. K. (2009). Psychiatric symptoms and same-sex sexual attraction and behavior in light of childhood gender atypical behavior and parental relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 46, 494–504.

  • Austin, S., Ziyadeh, N., Fisher, L. B., Kahn, J. A., Colditz, G. A., & Frazier, A. (2004). Sexual orientation and tobacco use in a cohort study of us adolescent girls and boys. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 158, 317–322.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baams, L., Beek, T., Hille, H., Zevenbergen, F. C., & Bos, H. M. W. (2013). Gender nonconformity, perceived stigmatization, and psychological well-being in Dutch sexual minority youth and young adults: A mediation analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42, 765–773.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, J. M., Kim, P. Y., Hills, A., & Linsenmeier, J. A. W. (1997). Butch, femme, or straight acting? Partner preferences of gay men and lesbians. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 960–973.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, J. M., & Zucker, K. J. (1995). Childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation: A conceptual analysis and quantitative review. Developmental Psychology, 31, 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balsam, K. F., & Mohr, J. J. (2007). Adaptation to sexual orientation stigma: A comparison of bisexual and lesbian/gay adults. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54, 306–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bostwick, W. B., Boyd, C. J., Hughes, T. L., & McCabe, S. E. (2010). Dimensions of sexual orientation and the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 468–475.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Brownstein, N., Kalsbeek, W. D., Tabor, J., Entzel, P., Daza, E., & Harris, K. M. (2014). Non-response in Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. California Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/data/guides/W4_nonresponse.pdf.

  • Busemeyer, J. R., & Jones, L. E. (1983). Analysis of multiplicative combination rules when the causal variables are measured with error. Psychological Bulletin, 93, 549–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso, F. L. (2009). Recalled sex-typed behavior in childhood and sports preferences in adulthood of heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual men from Brazil, Turkey, and Thailand. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 726–736.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Current depression among adults—United States, 2006 and 2008. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 59, 1229–1235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chantala, K., Kalsbeek, W. D., & Andraca, E. (2005). Non-response in Wave III of the Add Health Study. California Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/data/guides/W3nonres.pdf.

  • Chantala, K., & Tabor, J. (2010). Strategies to perform a design-based analysis using the Add Health data. California Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/data/guides/weight1.pdf.

  • Chen, P., & Chantala, K. (2014). Guidelines for analyzing Add Health data. California Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/data/guides/wt-guidelines.pdf.

  • Cochran, S. D., & Mays, V. M. (2000a). Relation between psychiatric syndromes and behaviorally defined sexual orientation in a sample of the US population. American Journal of Epidemiology, 151, 516–523.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cochran, S. D., & Mays, V. M. (2000b). Lifetime prevalence of suicide symptoms and affective disorders among men reporting same-sex sexual partners: Results from NHANES III. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 573–578.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Collier, K. L., van Beusekom, G., Bos, H. M. W., & Sandfort, T. G. M. (2013). Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression related peer victimization in adolescence: A systematic review of associated psychosocial and health outcomes. Journal of Sex Research, 50, 299–317.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Conron, K. J., Mimiaga, M. J., & Landers, S. J. (2010). A population-based study of sexual orientation identity and gender differences in adult health. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 1953–1960.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, S. H., Sandfort, T. G. M., Nel, J. A., & Rich, E. P. (2013). Exploring the relationship between gender nonconformity and mental health among Black South African gay and bisexual men [Letter to the Editor]. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42, 327–330.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • D’Augelli, A. R., Grossman, A. H., & Starks, M. T. (2005). Parents’ awareness of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths’ sexual orientation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 474–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Augelli, A. R., Grossman, A. H., & Starks, M. T. (2006). Childhood gender atypicality, victimization, and PTSD among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1462–1482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • D’Augelli, A. R., Grossman, A. H., & Starks, M. T. (2008). Gender atypicality and sexual orientation development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 12, 121–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Augelli, A. R., Pilkington, N. W., & Hershberger, S. L. (2002). Incidence and mental health impact of sexual orientation victimization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths in high school. School Psychology Quarterly, 17, 148–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, L. M. (2003). New paradigms for research on heterosexual and sexual-minority development. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 490–498.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dunne, M. P., Bailey, J. M., Kirk, K. M., & Martin, N. G. (2000). The subtlety of sex-atypicality. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 29, 549–565.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fagot, B. I. (1977). Consequences of moderate cross-gender behavior in preschool children. Child Development, 48, 902–907.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fagot, B. I. (1995). Psychosocial and cognitive determinants of early gender-role development. Annual Review of Sex Research, 6, 1–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, J. B., Johnson, K. L., Ambady, N., & Rule, N. O. (2010). Sexual orientation perception involves gendered facial cues. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 1318–1331.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilman, S. E., Cochran, S. D., Mays, V. M., Hughes, M., Ostrow, D., & Kessler, R. C. (2001). Risk of psychiatric disorders among individuals reporting same-sex sexual partners in the national comorbidity survey. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 933–939.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Golombok, S., Rust, J., Zervoulis, K., Croudace, T., Golding, J., & Hines, M. (2008). Developmental trajectories of sex-typed behavior in boys and girls: A longitudinal general population study of children aged 2.5–8 years. Child Development, 79, 1583–1593.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Golombok, S., Rust, J., Zervoulis, K., Golding, J., & Hines, M. (2012). Continuity in sex-typed behavior from preschool to adolescence: A longitudinal population study of boys and girls aged 3–13 years. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 591–597.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Green, R. (1987). The “sissy boy syndrome” and the development of homosexuality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, K. M. (2012). Design features of Add Health. California Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/data/guides/DesignPaperWIIV.pdf.

  • Herek, G. M. (2009). Hate crimes and stigma-related experiences among sexual minority adults in the United States: Prevalence estimates from a national probability sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 54–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herek, G. M., & Garnets, L. D. (2007). Sexual orientation and mental health. Annual Reviews of Clinical Psychology, 3, 353–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herek, G. M., Norton, A., Allen, T., & Sims, C. (2010). Demographic, psychological, and social characteristics of self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in a US probability sample. Sexuality and Relationship Therapy, 21, 217–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Medicine (IOM). (2011). The health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people: Building a foundation for better understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Israel, T., & Mohr, J. J. (2004). Attitudes toward bisexual women and men. Journal of Bisexuality, 4, 117–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. L., Gill, S., Reichman, V., & Tassinary, L. G. (2007). Swagger, sway, and sexuality: Judging sexual orientation from body motion and morphology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 321–334.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kane, E. W. (2006). “No way my boys are going to be like that!” Parents’ responses to children’s gender nonconformity. Gender and Society, 20, 149–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, M., Semlyen, J., Tai, S. S., Killaspy, H., Osborn, D., Popelyuk, D., & Nazareth, I. (2008). A systematic review of mental disorder, suicide, and deliberate self-harm in lesbian, gay and bisexual people. BMC Psychiatry. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-8-70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landolt, M. A., Bartholomew, K., Saffrey, C., Oram, D., & Perlman, D. (2004). Gender nonconformity, childhood rejection, and adult attachment: A study of gay men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 33, 117–128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laner, M. R. (1978). Media mating II: “Personals” advertisements of lesbian women. Journal of Homosexuality, 4, 41–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laner, M. R., & Kamel, G. W. (1977). Media mating I: Newspaper “personals” ads of homosexual men. Journal of Homosexuality, 3, 149–162.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laner, M. R., & Laner, R. H. (1979). Personal style or sexual preference: Why gay men are disliked. International Review of Modern Sociology, 9, 212–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laner, M. R., & Laner, R. H. (1980). Sexual preference or personal style? Why lesbians are disliked. Journal of Homosexuality, 5, 339–356.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lehavot, K., & Simoni, J. M. (2011). The impact of minority stress on mental health and substance use among sexual minority women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79, 159–170.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, R. J., Derlega, V. J., Brown, D., Rose, S., & Henson, J. M. (2009). Sexual minority stress, depressive symptoms, and sexual orientation conflict: Focus on the experiences of bisexuals. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28, 971–992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. A. (2005). Sexual orientation and personality. Annual Review of Sex Research, 16, 119–153.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. A. (2010). Gender differences in personality and interests: When, where, and why? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 1098–1110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. A., & Connelly, S. (1990). Gender diagnosticity: A new Bayesian approach to gender-related individual differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1051–1065.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, K. (1988). Measurement error and its impact on partial correlation and multiple linear regression analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology, 127, 864–874.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maccoby, E. E. (1998). The two sexes: Growing up apart, coming together. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshal, M. P., Dermody, S. S., Cheong, J., Burton, C. M., Friedman, M. S., Aranda, F., & Hughes, T. L. (2013). Trajectories of depressive symptoms and suicidality among heterosexual and sexual minority youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42, 1243–1256.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Marshal, M. P., Dietz, L., Friedman, M. S., Stall, R., Smith, H. A., McGinley, J., … Brent, D. A. (2011). Suicidality and depression disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual youth: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 49, 115–123.

  • Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 674–697.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, I. H. (2010). The right comparisons in testing the minority stress hypothesis: Comment on Savin-Williams, Cohen, Joyner, and Rieger (2010) [Letter to the Editor]. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1217–1219.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, D. F. (1976). Multivariate statistical methods (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosher, W. D., Chandra, A., & Jones, J. (2005). Sexual behavior and selected health measures: Men and women 15–44 years of age, United States, 2002. Advanced Data from Vital and Health Statistics, No. 362. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

  • Newcomb, M. E., Birkett, M., Corliss, H. L., & Mustanski, B. (2014). Sexual orientation, gender, and racial differences in illicit drug use in a sample of US high school students. American Journal of Public Health, 104, 304–310.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pachankis, J. E. (2007). The psychological implications of concealing a stigma: A cognitive-affective-behavioral model. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 328–345.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rieger, G., Linsenmeier, J. A. W., Gygax, L., & Bailey, J. M. (2008). Sexual orientation and gender nonconformity: Evidence from home videos. Developmental Psychology, 44, 46–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, A. L., Rosario, M., Slopen, N., Calzo, J. P., & Austin, S. B. (2013). Childhood gender nonconformity, bullying victimization, and depressive symptoms across adolescence and early adulthood: An 11-year longitudinal study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52, 143–152.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rosario, M., Hunter, J., Maguen, S., Gwadz, M., & Smith, R. (2001). The coming-out process and its adaptational and health-related associations among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths: Stipulation and exploration of a model. American Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 133–160.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosario, M., Schrimshaw, E. W., & Hunter, J. (2009). Disclosure of sexual orientation and substance use and abuse among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths: Critical role of disclosure reactions. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23, 175–184.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S. T., Clarke, T. J., & Clary, J. (2009). Are teens “post-gay”? Contemporary adolescents’ sexual identity labels. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 884–890.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S. T., Everett, B. G., Rosario, M., & Birkett, M. (2014). Indicators of victimization and sexual orientation among adolescents: Analyses from Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. American Journal of Public Health, 104, 255–261.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S. T., & Joyner, K. (2001). Adolescent sexual orientation and suicide risk: Evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 1276–1281.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, C., Huebner, D., Diaz, R. M., & Sanchez, J. (2009). Family rejection as a predictor of negative health outcomes in White and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults. Pediatrics, 123, 346–352.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saewyc, E. M. (2011). Research on adolescent sexual orientation: Development, health disparities, stigma, and resilience. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 256–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandfort, T. G., Melendez, R. M., & Diaz, R. M. (2007). Gender nonconformity, homophobia, and mental distress in Latino gay and bisexual men. Journal of Sex Research, 44, 181–189.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2005). The new gay teenager. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2008). Then and now: Recruiment, definition, diversity, and positive attributes of same-sex populations. Developmental Psychology, 44, 135–138.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C., Cohen, K. M., Joyner, K., & Rieger, G. (2010). Depressive symptoms among same-sex oriented young men: Importance of reference group [Letter to the Editor]. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1213–1215.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C., Joyner, K., & Rieger, G. (2012). Prevalence and stability of self-reported sexual orientation identity during young adulthood. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 103–110.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C., & Vrangalova, Z. (2013). Mostly heterosexual as a distinct sexual orientation group: A systematic review of the empirical evidence. Developmental Review, 33, 58–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schrimshaw, E. W., Siegel, K., Downing, M. J., & Parsons, J. T. (2013). Disclosure and concealment of sexual orientation and the mental health of non-gay-identified, behaviorally bisexual men. Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, 87, 141–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skidmore, W. C., Linsenmeier, J. A. W., & Bailey, J. M. (2006). Gender nonconformity and psychological distress in lesbians and gay men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 685–697.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steensma, T. D., van der Ende, J., Verhulst, F. C., & Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. (2013). Gender variance in childhood and sexual orientation in adulthood: A prospective study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10, 2723–2733.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Storms, M. D. (1978). Attitudes toward homosexuality and femininity in men. Journal of Homosexuality, 3, 257–263.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sylva, D., Rieger, G., Linsenmeier, J. A. W., & Bailey, J. M. (2010). Concealment of sexual orientation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 141–152.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talley, A. E., Hughes, T. L., Aranda, F., Birkett, M., & Marshal, M. P. (2014). Exploring alcohol-use behaviors among heterosexual and sexual minority adolescents: Intersections with sex, age, and race/ethnicity. American Journal of Public Health, 104, 295–303.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Taywaditep, K. J. (2001). Marginalization among the marginalized: Gay men’s negative attitudes toward effeminacy. Journal of Homosexuality, 42, 1–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Theodore, P. S., & Basow, S. A. (2000). Heterosexual masculinity and homophobia. Journal of Homosexuality, 40, 31–48.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, E. M., & Morgan, E. M. (2008). “Mostly straight” young women: Variations in sexual behavior and identity development. Developmental Psychology, 44, 15–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Toomey, R. B., Ryan, C., Diaz, R. M., Card, N. A., & Russell, S. T. (2010). Gender-nonconforming lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth: School victimization and young adult psychosocial adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 46, 1580–1589.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tourangeau, R., & Shin, H.-C. (1999). Grand sample weights of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. California Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/data/guides/weights.pdf.

  • Vrangalova, Z., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2012). Mostly heterosexual and mostly gay/lesbian: Evidence for new sexual orientation identities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 85–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vrangalova, Z., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2014). Psychological and physical health of mostly heterosexuals: A systematic review. Journal of Sex Research, 51, 410–445.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, B. E. (1987). The relationship of sex-role orientation to heterosexuals’ attitudes toward homosexuals. Sex Roles, 17, 103–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T., Kettlewell, G. E., & Sproule, C. F. (1985). On the importance of being masculine: Sex role, attribution, and women’s career achievement. Sex Roles, 12, 757–769.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge support for this research: the University of Arizona Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Fitch Nesbitt Endowment and a University of Arizona Graduate Access Fellowship to the second author. This research uses data from Add Health, a program project directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Information on how to obtain the Add Health data files is available on the Add Health website (http://www.cpc.unc.edu/addhealth). No direct support was received from grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis. The authors thank Noel Card and Susan Stryker for comments on the previous versions of this article and Richard Lippa and Katerina Sinclair for methodological and statistical consult. The authors also thank the anonymous reviewers and the Editor for their helpful comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Family Studies and Human Development, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Gu Li, Amanda M. Pollitt & Stephen T. Russell

  2. Department of Psychology, Free School Lane, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3RQ, UK

    Gu Li

Authors
  1. Gu Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amanda M. Pollitt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Stephen T. Russell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gu Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, G., Pollitt, A.M. & Russell, S.T. Depression and Sexual Orientation During Young Adulthood: Diversity Among Sexual Minority Subgroups and the Role of Gender Nonconformity. Arch Sex Behav 45, 697–711 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0515-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0515-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation