Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of Mindfulness

Purpose: Young sexual minority adults experience high rates of heterosexist discrimination. The use of substances has been documented as a form of coping with discrimination. While mindfulness has been used to address experiences of discrimination and the use of substances, respectively, few studies...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dale Dagar Maglalang, Lance Keene, Fatima A. Mabrouk, Jasmine Agostino, Arryn A. Guy, Shufang Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mary Ann Liebert 2024-12-01
Series:Health Equity
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2024.0015
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850031430591053824
author Dale Dagar Maglalang
Lance Keene
Fatima A. Mabrouk
Jasmine Agostino
Arryn A. Guy
Shufang Sun
author_facet Dale Dagar Maglalang
Lance Keene
Fatima A. Mabrouk
Jasmine Agostino
Arryn A. Guy
Shufang Sun
author_sort Dale Dagar Maglalang
collection DOAJ
description Purpose: Young sexual minority adults experience high rates of heterosexist discrimination. The use of substances has been documented as a form of coping with discrimination. While mindfulness has been used to address experiences of discrimination and the use of substances, respectively, few studies have explored whether mindfulness can lower the negative effects of discrimination on substance use. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between heterosexist discrimination and substance use in young adult sexual minority men (YASMM), and if dispositional mindfulness can moderate this relationship. Methods: Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of heterosexist discrimination and cigarette, e-cigarette, and hazardous drinking in a sample of YASMM (18–35 years old; n = 325) from a national survey. A two-way interaction analysis was also implemented to evaluate if dispositional mindfulness moderated this relationship. Results: Heterosexist discrimination was associated with increased odds of cigarette use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03, 1.08) and e-cigarette use (aOR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05). Higher scores of dispositional mindfulness moderated the relationship between heterosexist discrimination and hazardous drinking, indicating a weakening effect with higher scores of dispositional mindfulness. Conclusion: Mindfulness may decrease the negative effects of heterosexist discrimination on hazardous drinking among YASMM. Health Equity Implications: Researchers and practitioners should consider incorporating mindfulness as a component to their intervention to help YASMM deal with stressors engendered by discrimination, which may prevent hazardous drinking as a coping mechanism at a younger age.
format Article
id doaj-art-77c917efdf3f4c0fa9defd71703dc9a8
institution DOAJ
issn 2473-1242
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Mary Ann Liebert
record_format Article
series Health Equity
spelling doaj-art-77c917efdf3f4c0fa9defd71703dc9a82025-08-20T02:58:58ZengMary Ann LiebertHealth Equity2473-12422024-12-018157858710.1089/heq.2024.0015Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of MindfulnessDale Dagar Maglalang0Lance Keene1Fatima A. Mabrouk2Jasmine Agostino3Arryn A. Guy4Shufang Sun5Silver School of Social Work, New York University, New York, New York, USA.Silver School of Social Work, New York University, New York, New York, USA.Silver School of Social Work, New York University, New York, New York, USA.Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.Purpose: Young sexual minority adults experience high rates of heterosexist discrimination. The use of substances has been documented as a form of coping with discrimination. While mindfulness has been used to address experiences of discrimination and the use of substances, respectively, few studies have explored whether mindfulness can lower the negative effects of discrimination on substance use. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between heterosexist discrimination and substance use in young adult sexual minority men (YASMM), and if dispositional mindfulness can moderate this relationship. Methods: Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of heterosexist discrimination and cigarette, e-cigarette, and hazardous drinking in a sample of YASMM (18–35 years old; n = 325) from a national survey. A two-way interaction analysis was also implemented to evaluate if dispositional mindfulness moderated this relationship. Results: Heterosexist discrimination was associated with increased odds of cigarette use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03, 1.08) and e-cigarette use (aOR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05). Higher scores of dispositional mindfulness moderated the relationship between heterosexist discrimination and hazardous drinking, indicating a weakening effect with higher scores of dispositional mindfulness. Conclusion: Mindfulness may decrease the negative effects of heterosexist discrimination on hazardous drinking among YASMM. Health Equity Implications: Researchers and practitioners should consider incorporating mindfulness as a component to their intervention to help YASMM deal with stressors engendered by discrimination, which may prevent hazardous drinking as a coping mechanism at a younger age.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2024.0015sexual minoritiescigarette usee-cigarette usealcoholdiscriminationmindfulness
spellingShingle Dale Dagar Maglalang
Lance Keene
Fatima A. Mabrouk
Jasmine Agostino
Arryn A. Guy
Shufang Sun
Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of Mindfulness
Health Equity
sexual minorities
cigarette use
e-cigarette use
alcohol
discrimination
mindfulness
title Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of Mindfulness
title_full Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of Mindfulness
title_fullStr Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of Mindfulness
title_full_unstemmed Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of Mindfulness
title_short Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of Mindfulness
title_sort heterosexist discrimination and substance use in young adult sexual minority men examining the moderating role of mindfulness
topic sexual minorities
cigarette use
e-cigarette use
alcohol
discrimination
mindfulness
url https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2024.0015
work_keys_str_mv AT daledagarmaglalang heterosexistdiscriminationandsubstanceuseinyoungadultsexualminoritymenexaminingthemoderatingroleofmindfulness
AT lancekeene heterosexistdiscriminationandsubstanceuseinyoungadultsexualminoritymenexaminingthemoderatingroleofmindfulness
AT fatimaamabrouk heterosexistdiscriminationandsubstanceuseinyoungadultsexualminoritymenexaminingthemoderatingroleofmindfulness
AT jasmineagostino heterosexistdiscriminationandsubstanceuseinyoungadultsexualminoritymenexaminingthemoderatingroleofmindfulness
AT arrynaguy heterosexistdiscriminationandsubstanceuseinyoungadultsexualminoritymenexaminingthemoderatingroleofmindfulness
AT shufangsun heterosexistdiscriminationandsubstanceuseinyoungadultsexualminoritymenexaminingthemoderatingroleofmindfulness