Stress & Coping Patterns of Sexual and Gender Minorities (SGM)

Sandra Sunitha Lobo, Deepa Kotari

Abstract: This paper examines how sexual and gender minorities experience stress and the ways they cope with it, drawing on the minority stress framework to connect social exclusion, stigma, and psychological well-being. The sexual and gender minorities (SGM) suffer stigmatization due to existing conditions of social exclusion and marginalization, which impact their overall health (Saraff et al., 2022). The objectives of the present study were to identify the types of stress, resilience, and coping strategies adopted and to study the relationship between the types of stress and coping strategies used. A descriptive correlational design is presented to assess stress levels, resilience, and coping strategies among individuals who identify as sexual and gender minorities, with ethical safeguards clearly outlined. Thirty-eight participants who self-identified as SGM volunteered through snowballing. The Gender Minority Stress and Resilience measure (GMSR) by Testa & others (2015) and the Proactive Coping Inventory (PCI) developed by Greenglass et al. (1999) were the standardized tools used. By bringing together theoretical perspectives and recent empirical findings, the paper positions mental health as a central concern within sexual and gender minority research. Attention is given to resilience and social support as important buffers that shape mental health outcomes, particularly in contexts where family acceptance, peer networks, and community spaces are limited. The results indicated that there was no significant relation between two types of stress and proactive coping, while a significant correlation existed between the types of stress and resilience.

Keywords: Sexual and Gender Minorites, Gender Minority Stress, Coping Strategies, Resilience

How to Cite?: Sandra Sunitha Lobo, Deepa Kotari, "Stress & Coping Patterns of Sexual and Gender Minorities (SGM)", Volume 14 Issue 12, December 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 2413-2419, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR251230102953, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR251230102953