ArticlePloS one2025
Mental health and the role of social support in the lives of vulnerabilized sexual minority women.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Social support on social media may buffer associations of parental rejection with sexual minority young adults' tobacco use outcomes.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Sexual and mental health disparities among young sexual minority women compared to exclusively heterosexual women: a national study.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Article
- Health Care Utilization and Care-seeking Behavior Among Vulnerabilized Sexual Minority Women: A Social-ecological Approach.Journal of health care for the poor and underserved · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
introductionSexual minority women (SMW; women who self-identify as lesbian, queer, etc., as well as heterosexually-identified women who experience attraction to romantic or sexual partnerships with women) and vulnerabilized women (those marginalized due to structural forces such as housing insecurity, violence, sex exchange, drug use, or HIV positive status) experience a range of mental health challenges compared to their heterosexual and general population counterparts. General populations studies show a positive relationship between social support and mental health; less is known about SMW experiencing intersecting multi-layered vulnerabilities. This study characterizes mental health stressors, identifies social support sources and forms, and explores the relationship between social support and mental health among vulnerabilized SMW in Baltimore, MD.
methodsWe conducted virtual, in-depth semi-structured interviews with vulnerabilized cisgender SMW (n = 25) between June and October 2021. We utilized an inductive analytical approach to identify central themes and develop a categorization structure. Results are presented using narrative synthesis and illustrative quotes. To understand different forms of mental health-related social support provided across sources, data was sorted into a matrix and analyzed.
resultsVulnerabilized SMW commonly self-reported depression and anxiety. Participants identified three primary mental health stressors: 1) managing identity-related stigma; 2) relationships, loss, and isolation; and 3) financial struggles. The most important type of social support for mental health was non-judgement related to sexual orientation and/or mental health struggles. Family, friends, and partners were providing similar amounts of support, primarily emotional support. DISCUSSION: Vulnerabilized SMW have unique mental health and social support-related experiences and needs, potentially attributed to experiences with multiple marginalization, compounded by struggles with intersecting structural vulnerabilities. More research is warranted to explore different sources and forms of social support as predictors of mental health. Findings indicate need for public health interventions that address sexual orientation and mental health stigma.
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