Parental support eases impact of discrimination
The world can be cruel, and particularly so for sexual minorities. Brandi Ladyman-Miller’s thesis at AUT found parents can make a big difference.
We often talk about support and acceptance as though they have been achieved.
We see rainbow flags, pride celebrations and growing visibility of sexual diversity, and it can be easy to assume that things are getting better for everyone. But acceptance can look very different depending on where you are, who you are surrounded by, and whether the people closest to you accept you for who you are.
So, what happens when the people closest to us and the environments around us do not provide safety and belonging? How much does it matter when people around us say “I love you no matter what” when their support and acceptance do not feel unconditional?
While Aotearoa has made significant progress towards greater acceptance of sexual diversity, many people continue to experience challenges that affect their wellbeing.
Research has shown that sexual minorities face a poorer quality of life and higher levels of certain stressors, known as minority stress. This includes external stressors such as discrimination, victimisation, and microaggressions, as well as internal stressors such as identity concealment, rejection anticipation, and internalised homophobia. These experiences are not always visible, but they can have a lasting impact.
This is where my research comes in. My thesis explored how minority stress affects the quality of life of sexual minorities. I wanted to understand whether having parents who accepted and supported their child’s sexuality could help protect them.
The research surveyed 250 sexual minorities across Aotearoa aged between 16 and 64. It looked at quality of life, experiences of minority stress, sexuality-specific parental support, parental acceptance, self-esteem, and optimism. Quality of life was considered broadly, looking beyond mental wellbeing to include physical, social and environmental wellbeing. Looking at these factors together allowed me to explore not only the challenges sexual minorities face, but also what might help them thrive.
The research found that both external and internal stress were associated with poorer quality of life, with discrimination and prejudice having the strongest impact.
When self-esteem and optimism were taken into account, internal stress no longer predicted quality of life. Suggesting these psychological resources may help explain why some people cope better than others.
But the same cannot be said for external stress. It remained a significant predictor of poorer quality of life even after accounting for self-esteem and optimism.
This is an important finding. We cannot simply tell people to be stronger or more optimistic and expect them to overcome the effects of discrimination. Improving the quality of life of sexual minorities requires addressing the environments and experiences that create these stressors.
The research also found that parents matter. Sexuality-specific support from both parents, referring to how they respond to and help their child navigate minority stress, helped reduce the negative impact of external stress on quality of life.
Acceptance from mothers, being their attitude towards their children’s sexual orientation, showed a similar protective effect. More research is needed into why acceptance from fathers did not. Neither parental support nor acceptance lessened the impact of internal stress.
Together, these findings suggest that different forms of stress may require different forms of support. Psychological resources like self-esteem and optimism may help people navigate internal stress while supportive and accepting parents can provide an important buffer when sexual minorities face discrimination and prejudice.
This does not mean that support from parents can make external stressors disappear. Rather, it suggests that having your parents in your corner can make a difference when you encounter negative experiences because of your sexuality.
For me, this research has reinforced the importance of connection. Psychological resources matter, but so do the people closest to us. Reducing discrimination remains essential, but so does creating families, communities and environments where sexual minorities feel supported, accepted and able to thrive.
Ultimately, my research highlights a simple but powerful message. When sexual minorities feel supported and accepted by their parents, these relationships may help protect their quality of life.
This article was written by Brandi Ladyman-Miller about their research Minority Stress and Quality of Life Among Sexual Minorities: The Role of Sexuality-Specific Parental Support and Parental Attitudes. It was originally published in the Sunday Star-Times Brainwaves feature. Read the original on The Post.
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