Social Relationships and Health
Social relationships such as friendships are important to your health and quality of life. A great deal of evidence has demonstrated the many ways in which the presence, absence, and quality of social relationships can affect a person’s health. For example, social relationships can:
Influence positive health behaviours and physiological processes
Help shape mental health and emotional well-being by reducing the impact of stress and fostering a sense of meaning and purpose in life
Provide emotional and social support
Help those in illness treatment and recovery
On the flipside, the absence of support systems has been shown to result in various negative health impacts.
Social Isolation and Health
“About 29% of gay and bisexual Canadian men under 25 years old have been socially excluded on the basis of their sexuality” (2015 Sex Now Survey, CBRC)
Social isolation is a problem faced by many queer and trans individuals, with sexual minority populations reporting higher levels of social isolation than their cisgender or heterosexual counterparts. This, in part, is due to the marginalization sexual and gender minority communities face as a result of stigma and discrimination. Studies have shown that queer and trans people who experience social isolation or exclusion due to their sexual or gender minority status are more likely to adopt negative health behaviours, which can compromise their health and wellbeing.
Minority Stress and Community Connectedness
But how exactly do social relationships influence our health outcomes? One way to understand this is through looking at a minority stress model. Minority stress recognizes the unique stressors minority populations face due to the unique environmental and social conditions they experience. Unlike general stressors, which anyone can experience (i.e. financial stress), minority stressors are rooted in the stigma someone faces due to their minority status (i.e. fear of being fired from a job due to homophobia). This additional stress can result in negative coping mechanisms and health outcomes.
But what does this have to do with social relationships? Well, social relationships and support networks are recognized as an important group-level coping tool used by minority populations to counteract the negative impacts of minority stress. Positive social interactions can help you develop a sense of self, improve your well-being, and negate the excess stress caused by stigma and discrimination. Finally, community connectedness within minority populations can also serve as an important tool of empowerment and resilience that allows community members to validate one another’s experiences and feelings as minority individuals.
The Importance of Chosen Families
Research has demonstrated that one of the reasons 2SLGBTQ+ individuals experience increased negative health outcomes, when compared to their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts, is due to lower levels of family support. However, in 1997, Kath Weston3 produced an important anthropological study which looked at the ways gay men and lesbian women construct their own notions of kinship and ‘family.’ Weston’s research drew on fieldwork and interviews conducted in the Bay Area in the 1980s during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Mapping out the differences between families we are bound to by blood and families we are bound to by choice, Weston found that for many gays and lesbians, their strongest emotional ties are with those they are bound to by choice – in other words, their chosen families.
Considering that family rejection remains an issue for many 2SLGBTQ+ people, chosen families that are comprised of other members of the queer and trans community serve as a powerful tool of resilience that counteracts the potential health harms caused by anti-gay/trans victimization and social isolation. A recent CBC article reported the important role chosen families continue to play today, especially during the Christmas holidays - a time that can be particularly isolating for LGBTQ2S+ people who may not have a biological family that they can safely spend their holidays with.
In addition to chosen families, feeling connected to your local 2SLGBTQ+ community can also be important. Becoming involved in one’s own local 2SLGBTQ+ community can result in a variety of important benefits. These include:
Meeting potential partners
Forming a support network with people who share mutual experiences
Feeling more comfortable with your sexual orientation
Establishing a sense of validation as a sexual or gender minority person
Get Involved
Looking to get more involved in the community? Check out our “Get Involved” section to learn about QTHC programming, our “Get Access” section to connect with QTHC partners across the province, or our “Calendar” to learn about events happening soon.
References
Fish, Julie. Heterosexism in Health and Social Care. Springer, 2006.
Hatzenbuehler, Mark L., Jo C. Phelan, and Bruce G. Link. "Stigma as a Fundamental Cause of Population Health Inequalities." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 103, no. 5, 2013, pp. 813-821.
Messina, Maria, and Sel L. Hwahng. "Sexual Minority and Gender-Variant Adults." Service Delivery for Vulnerable Populations: New Directions in Behavioral Health, edited by Steven A. Estrine, Robert T. Hettenbach, Heidi Arthur, and Maria Messina, 2010, 149-168.
Meyer, Ilan H. "Prejudice, Social stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence." Psychological Bulletin, vol. 129, no. 5, 2003, pp. 674-697.
Sabia, Joseph J., Mark Wooden, and Thanh Tam Nguyen. "Sexual Identity, Same-same Relationships, and Health Dynamics: New Evidence from Australia." Economics & Human Biology, 2018, pp. 24-36.
Trussler, Terry, and David Ham. “Gay Generations: Life Course and Gay Men’s Health,” 2016, https://www.cbrc.net/gay_generations_life_course_and_gay_mens_health.
Ueno, Koji. "Mental Health Differences Between Young Adults With and Without Same-sex Contact: A Simultaneous Examination of Underlying Mechanisms." Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 51, no. 4, 2010, pp. 391-407.
Umberson, Debra, and Jennifer Karas Montez. "Social Relationships and health: A Flashpoint for Health Policy." Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 51, no. 1, 2010, pp. S54-S66.
Vermes, Jason. “A Place For You: Why Chosen Family Can Be a Lifesaver for LGBTQ People Over the Holidays”. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio, 23 Dec. 2018, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/checkup/a-place-for-you-why-chosen-family-can-be-a-lifesaver-for-lgbtq-people-over-the-holidays-1.4954350.
Weston, Kath. Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship. Columbia University Press, 1997.