Disparities in Stress Coping Strategies among High School Students, in Bangkok, with Various Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities

Abstract

Objective: To ascertain any relationship between coping strategies, sexual orientation and gender diversity in regard to high school students in Bangkok, and to examine coping strategies among sexual and gender minority youths. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional survey included 600 students across Bangkok, Thailand. Participants completed an online questionnaire, consisting of demographic data and the Adolescent Coping Scale (Thai version). Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used for data analysis (p-value≤0.05). Results: The participants included 301 males (50.2%), and 299 females (49.8%), with a mean age of 16.6. The sample identified as 83.7% cisgender, 16.3% non-cisgender (transgender, non-conforming, questioning/unspecified, and others), 64.8% heterosexual, and 35.2% non-heterosexual (homosexual, bisexual, asexual, pansexual, questioning/unspecified, and others). Females used more non-productive coping strategies than males (p-value=0.001), non-cisgender youths used more non-productive coping than cisgender youths (p-value<0.001), and non-heterosexual youths used more non-productive coping than heterosexual youth (p-value<0.001). Coping strategies mostly used by sexual and gender minority male youths were worrying, ignoring the problem, and wishful thinking, while coping strategies most used by sexual and gender minority female youths were worrying, not coping, and keeping to one’s self. Conclusion: Differences in regards to the sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and sexual orientation had a statistically significant correlation with different coping strategies, specifically in sexual and gender minority youths who used nonproductive coping strategies.