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Article
Religion/Spirituality, Stress, and Resilience Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: The Religious/Spiritual Stress and Resilience Model
Perspectives on Psychological Science
  • G. Tyler Lefevor, Utah State University
  • Chana Etengoff, Adelphi University
  • Edward B. Davis, Wheaton College
  • Samuel J. Skidmore, Utah State University
  • Eric M. Rodriguez, City University of New York
  • James S. McGraw, Bowling Green State University
  • Sharon S. Rostosky, University of Kentucky
Document Type
Article
Publisher
Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication Date
6-27-2023
Abstract

Although many sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) consider themselves religious or spiritual, the impact of this religiousness or spirituality (RS) on their health is poorly understood. We introduce the religious/spiritual stress and resilience model (RSSR) to provide a robust framework for understanding the variegated ways that RS influences the health of SGMs. The RSSR bridges existing theorizing on minority stress, structural stigma, and RS-health pathways to articulate the circumstances under which SGMs likely experience RS as health promoting or health damaging. The RSSR makes five key propositions: (a) Minority stress and resilience processes influence health; (b) RS influences general resilience processes; (c) RS influences minority-specific stress and resilience processes; (d) these relationships are moderated by a number of variables uniquely relevant to RS among SGMs, such as congregational stances on same-sex sexual behavior and gender expression or an individual’s degree of SGM and RS identity integration; and (e) relationships between minority stress and resilience, RS, and health are bidirectional. In this manuscript, we describe the empirical basis for each of the five propositions focusing on research examining the relationship between RS and health among SGMs. We conclude by describing how the RSSR may inform future research on RS and health among SGMs.

Comments

G. Tyler Lefevor, Chana Etengoff, Edward B. Davis, Samuel J. Skidmore, Eric M. Rodriguez, James S. McGraw, Sharon S. Rostosky, Religion/Spirituality, Stress, and Resilience Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: The Religious/Spiritual Stress and Resilience Model, Perspectives on Psychological Science (18:6) pp. 1537-1561. Copyright © 2023 The Authors. DOI: 10.1177/17456916231179137.

Author ORCID Identifier

G. Tyler Lefevor: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4510-7306

Journal Article Version
Accepted Manuscript
Citation Information
Lefevor, G. T., Etengoff, C., Davis, E. B., Skidmore, S. J., Rodriguez, E. M., McGraw, J. S., & Rostosky, S. S. (2023). Religion/Spirituality, Stress, and Resilience Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: The Religious/Spiritual Stress and Resilience Model. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(6), 1537-1561. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231179137