Social exclusion and psychopathology in LGBTQ+ communities: a neuropsychosocial review
LGBTQ+ individuals are disproportionately affected by depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, primarily due to persistent social exclusion, prejudice, and systemic discrimination rather than any inherent psychopathology. This review synthesizes contemporary theoretical frameworks, including the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sociology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1638766/full |
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| author | Stergios Kaprinis Anastasios Charalampakis |
| author_facet | Stergios Kaprinis Anastasios Charalampakis |
| author_sort | Stergios Kaprinis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | LGBTQ+ individuals are disproportionately affected by depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, primarily due to persistent social exclusion, prejudice, and systemic discrimination rather than any inherent psychopathology. This review synthesizes contemporary theoretical frameworks, including the Minority Stress Model, the Psychological Mediation Framework, and the Rejection Sensitivity Model, to examine the internalization of systemic marginalization and its manifestation as psychological distress. Significant mediators, such as internalized stigma, emotional dysregulation, and rejection sensitivity, are investigated alongside structural determinants, such as familial rejection and intersectional oppression. Contemporary insights from social psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience were used in this study. Neurobiological data indicate that chronic minority stress modifies the limbic–prefrontal circuitry, disrupts the hypothalamic– pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and increases allostatic load. The implications for clinical practice and public health were analyzed, emphasizing the importance of community-based resilience initiatives, inclusive policy reforms, and LGBTQ+-affirmative therapy. The article concludes by outlining the theoretical constraints and proposing future avenues for participatory and multidisciplinary studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b5f7e8eba2ef4f6cbcfb6080c678d23e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2297-7775 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sociology |
| spelling | doaj-art-b5f7e8eba2ef4f6cbcfb6080c678d23e2025-08-20T03:31:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sociology2297-77752025-07-011010.3389/fsoc.2025.16387661638766Social exclusion and psychopathology in LGBTQ+ communities: a neuropsychosocial reviewStergios KaprinisAnastasios CharalampakisLGBTQ+ individuals are disproportionately affected by depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, primarily due to persistent social exclusion, prejudice, and systemic discrimination rather than any inherent psychopathology. This review synthesizes contemporary theoretical frameworks, including the Minority Stress Model, the Psychological Mediation Framework, and the Rejection Sensitivity Model, to examine the internalization of systemic marginalization and its manifestation as psychological distress. Significant mediators, such as internalized stigma, emotional dysregulation, and rejection sensitivity, are investigated alongside structural determinants, such as familial rejection and intersectional oppression. Contemporary insights from social psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience were used in this study. Neurobiological data indicate that chronic minority stress modifies the limbic–prefrontal circuitry, disrupts the hypothalamic– pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and increases allostatic load. The implications for clinical practice and public health were analyzed, emphasizing the importance of community-based resilience initiatives, inclusive policy reforms, and LGBTQ+-affirmative therapy. The article concludes by outlining the theoretical constraints and proposing future avenues for participatory and multidisciplinary studies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1638766/fullminority stressinternalized stigmarejection sensitivityemotional dysregulationintersectionalityneurobiology |
| spellingShingle | Stergios Kaprinis Anastasios Charalampakis Social exclusion and psychopathology in LGBTQ+ communities: a neuropsychosocial review Frontiers in Sociology minority stress internalized stigma rejection sensitivity emotional dysregulation intersectionality neurobiology |
| title | Social exclusion and psychopathology in LGBTQ+ communities: a neuropsychosocial review |
| title_full | Social exclusion and psychopathology in LGBTQ+ communities: a neuropsychosocial review |
| title_fullStr | Social exclusion and psychopathology in LGBTQ+ communities: a neuropsychosocial review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social exclusion and psychopathology in LGBTQ+ communities: a neuropsychosocial review |
| title_short | Social exclusion and psychopathology in LGBTQ+ communities: a neuropsychosocial review |
| title_sort | social exclusion and psychopathology in lgbtq communities a neuropsychosocial review |
| topic | minority stress internalized stigma rejection sensitivity emotional dysregulation intersectionality neurobiology |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1638766/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stergioskaprinis socialexclusionandpsychopathologyinlgbtqcommunitiesaneuropsychosocialreview AT anastasioscharalampakis socialexclusionandpsychopathologyinlgbtqcommunitiesaneuropsychosocialreview |