Minority stress and working memory
Presentation Type
Abstract
Faculty Advisor
John Wilson
Access Type
Event
Start Date
25-4-2025 1:30 PM
End Date
25-4-2025 2:29 PM
Description
Minority Stress Theory posits that sexual minority status leads to unique stressors related to stigma, prejudice, and discrimination that creates worse mental health outcomes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals (Meyer, 2003). The present study investigated working memory in LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ samples after a minority stress induction, as stress has been linked to cognitive difficulties in the context of memory retrieval in both short- and long-term memory (Klier & Burrata, 2020). The present study incorporated a recently validated film-based minority stress induction created by Seager van Dyk et al. (2023). 184 participants (66 LGBTQ+) viewed this induction and then completed an n-back task that assessed working memory.I found that both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ groups performed similarly on the working memory task. However, LGBTQ+ participants reported more elevated negative affect after induction than non-LGBTQ+ participants. Although working memory impairments were not found in the present study, further research can examine how elevated negative affect in the face of minority stress events may impact LGBTQ+ individuals in other domains that can potentially be leading to adverse mental health outcomes.
Minority stress and working memory
Minority Stress Theory posits that sexual minority status leads to unique stressors related to stigma, prejudice, and discrimination that creates worse mental health outcomes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals (Meyer, 2003). The present study investigated working memory in LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ samples after a minority stress induction, as stress has been linked to cognitive difficulties in the context of memory retrieval in both short- and long-term memory (Klier & Burrata, 2020). The present study incorporated a recently validated film-based minority stress induction created by Seager van Dyk et al. (2023). 184 participants (66 LGBTQ+) viewed this induction and then completed an n-back task that assessed working memory.I found that both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ groups performed similarly on the working memory task. However, LGBTQ+ participants reported more elevated negative affect after induction than non-LGBTQ+ participants. Although working memory impairments were not found in the present study, further research can examine how elevated negative affect in the face of minority stress events may impact LGBTQ+ individuals in other domains that can potentially be leading to adverse mental health outcomes.
Comments
Poster presentation at the 2025 Student Research Symposium.