Distress due to heterosexist experiences and its relationship with the mental help-seeking behavior of LGBT college students

Department/Unit

Student Affairs Office

Document Type

Article

Source Title

Social Scien Lens: A world Journal of Hunan Dynamics and Social Relations

Volume

3

Issue

1

First Page

45

Last Page

58

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Progress has been made in reducing stigma in mental health, but some communities still lack the same level of de-stigmatization. As such, this research explores the relationship between heterosexist experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) college students and their mental health help-seeking behavior, aiming to fill a gap in existing literature on LGBT students' struggles and vulnerabilities. This correlational study recruited a total of 100 LGBT College Students studying within Metro Manila Universities. Distress from heterosexist experiences was measured using the Distress from Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire (DHEQ). While the mental help-seeking behavior was measured using the Actual Help-Seeking Questionnaire (AHSQ). The relationship between the two variables was tested using regression analysis. The data revealed in the study shows that LGBT college students do indeed experience distress due to heterosexism, wherein they display an average distress of 2.10 (SD=0.67). This means that LGBT college students experience a mild range of distress due to heterosexist experiences. Moreover, the result shows that the average mental help-seeking of LGBT college students is 3.28 (SD=2.01). An average range could indicate that either LGBT college students do not seek much help or that LGBT college students only seek help from certain people. As a result, the relationship between distress due to heterosexism and help-seeking behavior reveals that there is a significant predictive relationship between the two variables, F (1, 98) = 6.33, p= 0.013. A 0.74 increase in mental help-seeking behavior for every one (1) level increase in distress due to heterosexist experiences. Keywords: distress, heterosexist experiences, mental help-seeking behavior, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)

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Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Sexual minorities—Mental health—Philippines; Sexual minorities in higher education—Philippines

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