Minority stress, technology, and LGBTQ + people’s experiences and outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study utilized a concurrent, triangulation mixed method design to explore pandemic mental health dynamics in the context of technology usage. We surveyed 406 adults from predominantly rural regions in the US (n = 118 LGBTQ+-identifying) (Step 1), and completed follow-up in-depth interviews with n = 43 LGBTQ + people from the original sample (Step 2). Our integrated findings highlight how LGBTQ + people’s heightened mental health concerns were related to downstream processes and patterns of heavily relying on certain technologies, smartphones in particular, during the pandemic. Service providers and policymakers can utilize the findings to tailor effective LGBTQ + programming.

Keywords:

• LGBTQ
• FoMO
• problematic smartphone use
• COVID-19

Acknowledgment

The authors dedicate this work to the LGBTQ + people who shared their pandemic narratives for this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data is available upon request from the first author.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University.