Lifetime Victimization, Hazardous Drinking, and Depression Among Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Women.

Purpose: Substantial research documents sexual-orientation-related mental health disparities, but relatively few studies have explored underlying causes of these disparities. The goals of this article were to (1) understand how differences in sexual identity and victimization experiences influence risk of hazardous drinking and depression, and (2) describe variations across sexual minority subgroups.

Methods: We pooled data from the 2001 National Study of Health and Life Experiences of Women and the 2001 Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women study to compare rates of victimization, hazardous drinking, and depression between heterosexual women and sexual minority women (SMW), and to test the relationship between the number of victimization experiences and the study outcomes in each of five sexual identity subgroups.

Results: Rates of each of the major study variables varied substantially by sexual identity, with bisexual and mostly heterosexual women showing significantly higher risk than heterosexual women on one or both of the study outcomes. The number of victimization experiences explained some, but not all, of the risk of hazardous drinking and depression among SMW.

Conclusion: Although victimization plays an important role, sexual-minority-specific stressors, such as stigma and discrimination, likely also help explain substance use and mental health disparities among SMW.