Editorial: Towards an Intersectional Understanding of Sexual Identity, Mental Health, Neurodivergence, and Beyond.

Abstract

Around the globe, individuals whose sexual identities are minoritized are known to be more likely to experience mental health challenges compared with heterosexual individuals. This is evident across the lifespan but is particularly significant in young people,¹ especially considering the profound impact of identity development on future well-being and mental health. Reasons for the heightened mental health challenges are most often explained by the minority stress model,² which posits that excess exposure to social stress due to structural stigma³ interacts with psychological factors to produce health impacts in sexual minority populations. Despite the known longitudinal stability of internalized sexual stigma, minority stress, and mental health associations,⁴ the developmental-mechanistic relationships and intricate variations related to intersectionality remain unclear. In this issue, Bränström and Pachankis provide new population-based evidence⁵ that moves our field toward more clarity regarding the developmental nuances, especially the timing of the emergence of mental health needs of sexual minority individuals.