We're in This Together: LGBQ Social Identity Buffers the Homonegative Microaggressions-Alcohol Relationship

Research indicates that rates of alcohol use and alcohol consequences are higher among LGBQ emerging adults (EAs; ages 18-25) than among their heterosexual counterparts and this is partly due to experiences of sexual orientation-based discrimination. To date, however, there is limited research on factors that mitigate against increased alcohol outcomes among LGBQ EAs. The purpose of the current study was to examine the buffering effects of LGBQ social identity components (ingroup ties, centrality, ingroup affect) on the relationship between two types of discrimination (homonegative microaggressions and discrimination violence) and alcohol use and consequences. A community-based sample of 252 LGBQ EAs completed an online survey. There was a significant moderating effect for ingroup ties and ingroup affect where the relationship between homonegative microaggressions and alcohol use and consequences was lower for those higher on these social identity components; there was no moderating effect of any social identity component on the association between discrimination violence and either alcohol outcome. Social identity factors strongly affiliated with the LGBTQ community act as both a buffer in the face of subtle forms of discrimination and, more generally, a way to counteract the typical trajectory of increased alcohol use and consequences among LGBQ EAs.