The Intersection of Sexual and Racial/Ethnic Identity Centrality and Mental Well-Being among Black and Latinx Sexual Minority Adults

Abstract

Studies document how identity related processes, including identity centrality, shape mental well being. More research, however, is needed that considers how identity centrality impacts well being for people with more than one marginalized identity. Drawing from data from 1,571 black and Latinx sexual minorities included in the Social Justice Sexuality Project, I apply an intercategorical intersectional approach to examine the association between the intersection of sexual and racial/ethnic identity centrality and mental well being. Ordinary least squares regression models show three key findings. First, I found a significant association between both racial/ethnic and sexual identity centrality and mental well being. Second, my results highlight a significant interaction effect between sexual and racial/ethnic identity centrality, indicating the relationship between centrality and well being varies across different levels of centrality. Finally, my results indicate that after adjusting for identity centrality, other predictors remain significantly associated with well being.