Rupture, resilience, and risk: relationships between mental health and migration among gay-identified men in North America
Rupture, resilience, and risk: relationships between mental health and migration among gay-identified men in North America
An established body of research in psychology, psychiatry and epidemiology links social stigma and stress with poor mental and sexual health outcomes among gay-identified men. Less work considers how these linkages are mediated by place and almost none considers the role of movement across places. This qualitative study, based on the migration narratives of 48 gay-identified men living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Washington, D.C., U.S.A. gives more careful consideration to the ways in which mental and emotional health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance use) in this population both precipitate migration and stem from migration. The narratives show that decisions to migrate often emerge from men?s experiences of place-based minority stress and associated health outcomes. At the same time, moving to urban gay communities, when coupled with other life circumstances, can create or reinforce physical and emotional insecurities that lead to low self-esteem, substance use and sexual risk-taking.
gay, sexuality, migration, mental health, HIV/AIDS
212-219
Lewis, Nathaniel M.
f0218afb-51ea-4141-a1e9-d031d8b98645
May 2014
Lewis, Nathaniel M.
f0218afb-51ea-4141-a1e9-d031d8b98645
Abstract
An established body of research in psychology, psychiatry and epidemiology links social stigma and stress with poor mental and sexual health outcomes among gay-identified men. Less work considers how these linkages are mediated by place and almost none considers the role of movement across places. This qualitative study, based on the migration narratives of 48 gay-identified men living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Washington, D.C., U.S.A. gives more careful consideration to the ways in which mental and emotional health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance use) in this population both precipitate migration and stem from migration. The narratives show that decisions to migrate often emerge from men?s experiences of place-based minority stress and associated health outcomes. At the same time, moving to urban gay communities, when coupled with other life circumstances, can create or reinforce physical and emotional insecurities that lead to low self-esteem, substance use and sexual risk-taking.
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Accepted/In Press date: 3 March 2014
e-pub ahead of print date: 22 March 2014
Published date: May 2014
Keywords:
gay, sexuality, migration, mental health, HIV/AIDS
Organisations:
Population, Health & Wellbeing (PHeW)
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 377571
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377571
ISSN: 1353-8292
PURE UUID: 199c2e80-37a5-4f37-a993-903615b8d1ce
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Date deposited: 09 Jun 2015 13:03
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:06
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Author:
Nathaniel M. Lewis
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