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Minority stressors, rumination, and psychological distress in monozygotic twins discordant for sexual minority status

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2017

Liadh Timmins ,
Katharine A. Rimes  and
Qazi Rahman
Liadh Timmins*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 5th Floor, Bermondsey Wing, Guy's Hospital Campus, London SE1 9RT, UK
Katharine A. Rimes
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 5th Floor, Bermondsey Wing, Guy's Hospital Campus, London SE1 9RT, UK
Qazi Rahman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 5th Floor, Bermondsey Wing, Guy's Hospital Campus, London SE1 9RT, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Liadh Timmins or Qazi Rahman, E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
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Abstract

Background

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals report higher levels of depression and anxiety than heterosexual people. Genetic factors may be a ‘common cause’ of sexual minority status and psychological distress. Alternatively, these may be correlated because of non-genetic environmental factors (e.g. minority stressors). This study investigated minority stressors and distress in monozygotic twins discordant for sexual minority status. This design provides a test of the role of non-shared environmental factors while minimizing differences due to genetics.

Methods

Thirty-eight twin pairs in which one was heterosexual and the other was LGB completed a survey. Differences between twin pairs in minority stressors, rumination, psychological distress, and gender non-conformity were examined. Associations between these variables were also tested.

Results

Although there were no significant group differences for distress, LGB twins had higher rumination, a vulnerability factor for distress, than heterosexual co-twins. LGB twins also had higher scores than heterosexual co-twins on expectations of rejection, active concealment, self-stigma, prejudice events, childhood gender non-conformity, and lower scores on sexual orientation disclosure. Differences between twin pairs in rumination were positively associated with differences in acceptance concerns and self-stigma. Finally, self-stigma was positively associated with rumination in the full sample of heterosexual co-twins and microaggressions were positively associated with rumination when looking at exclusively heterosexual co-twins.

Conclusions

These results support environmental factors as a causal explanation for disparities in rumination between LGB and heterosexual individuals. These factors likely include minority stressors. Rumination may also be associated with minority stressors in heterosexual MZ co-twins of LGB individuals.

Keywords

Sexual orientationtwinsgeneticsdistressruminationminority stressnon-shared environment
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 48 , Issue 10 , July 2018 , pp. 1705 - 1712
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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