Purpose: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people are at increased risk for psychological distress compared with cisgender heterosexual people. Specific SGM subgroups include lesbian, gay, bisexual, gender diverse, and asexual people who each experience unique psychosocial challenges that can result in different mental health outcomes. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have further exacerbated mental health disparities among these groups. The aim of this study was to compare lesbian, gay, bisexual, gender diverse, asexual, and cisgender heterosexual people's mental health and social support during the first 4 months of the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional online survey from March 26th, 2020 to July 7th, 2020 in Québec, Canada. A total of 2908 individuals (n = 304 SGM people, n = 2604 cisgender heterosexual people) completed questionnaires measuring perceived social support, perceived stress, symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as loneliness. Results: SGM people presented worse health outcomes than cisgender heterosexual people on all questionnaires (p < 0.001). Post hoc analyses showed that particularly marginalized SGM subgroups, including bisexual and asexual people, reported the poorest mental health. Moderation analyses revealed that the buffering effect of social support on depressive symptoms was four times stronger among SGM people (ΔR2 = 0.041; p < 0.001) than among cisgender heterosexual people (ΔR2 = 0.010; p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study suggests that fostering social connectedness among SGM people may be especially beneficial in buffering against distress in the face of a crisis.
Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; sexual and gender minority; social support.