Exploring Multiple Minority Stress: The Role of Peer Victimisation and Migration Background in the Mental Health of Same-sex Attracted Adolescents in the Netherlands

Abstract

Sexually diverse adolescents experience more mental health problems than their heterosexual peers. In a representative cross-sectional sample of Dutch adolescents, we examined whether peer victimisation explains (i.e., mediates) this relationship and whether the strength of this mediated relation differs between sexually diverse youth with a Western versus a non-Western cultural background. Using Minority Stress Theory and an intersectional approach, the study explores how same-sex attraction and a non-Western migration background combined may increase vulnerability to peer victimisation and mental health problems. Results show that peer victimisation partially mediates the relationship between same-sex attraction and mental health, but this effect does not significantly differ by cultural background.