Ian Meyer’s minority stress model: what is it and what does it explain?

This is the minority stress model, oriented to the link between sexual identity and mental health.

Sometimes there are tensions between the values of different groups and these are aggravated if there is an asymmetry between them.

Ian Meyer attempts to explain this phenomenon through his model of minority stress.. Below we will try to see it in detail in order to better understand his approach and the implications of this model for the understanding of this phenomenon.

What is Ian Meyer's minority stress model?

Ian Meyer's model of minority stress is a system developed by this author to try to explain the negative consequences on the mental health of minority individuals related to sexual orientation such as homosexuality or bisexuality, as a result of the conflict generated by the prejudices held about them by people belonging to the majority group.

What Meyer tried to explain through this model, created in 2003, is that these minority populations are being subjected to a series of stressors related to their sexual identity and the perception that people who do not belong to these minority groups have of them.

All this series of stressors, which we will see in detail later, would be increasing the chances of generating psychological distress and therefore alterations in the mental and even physical health of these individuals. This is precisely what Ian Meyer's minority stress model tries to explain.

The key to this model is that affirms that the factors that generate stress to these minorities, act only in this direction, so they would not imply any stressor to the individuals of the majority.. This issue generates an imbalance, since members of minority groups are affected by a series of issues that only have a negative effect on them, compared to a majority that is oblivious to the problem.

Minority stressors

Within Ian Meyer's minority stress model there are different issues that could fit as stressors for such groups. Let's look at some of the most important ones.

1. Previous experiences of prejudice

The first of the factors that may be affecting people according to Ian Meyer's minority stress model would be their own previous experiences in which the individual has experienced prejudice towards themselves or others because of their sexual orientation, i.e., because of belonging to that minority group, in this case. These experiences may have been lived a long time ago and have been accumulating.

Each of these events acts as one more drop of stress that depletes the individual until he/she is completely exhausted, so they produce a cumulative effect.Each one of these events acts as a drop of stress that depletes the individual until he or she is completely exhausted, producing a cumulative and increasingly intense effect of suffering in the person who is being stigmatized as a result of his or her sexual orientation. The memory of these past experiences is a discomfort that can lead to the deterioration of the individual's mental health.

2. Expectations of being rejected

All those negative experiences in which the person has been discriminated against because of his sexual preferences not only affect him from the past, but also produce a discomfort towards the future, since they are generating a series of expectations about what may continue to happen to him. That is to say, the individual who has already been rejected for his identity in the past, fears that he will continue to be rejected in the future.

Therefore, this second factor in Ian Meyer's minority stress model has to do with the double victimization that people receive in the past. the double victimization received by people who are victims of prejudice and stigmatization.. Not only have they suffered the Pain of being rejected in the past, but they also have the pressure of having to go through the same thing again repeatedly in the future, with the stress that this entails.

3. Hiding

It is logical to think that if the person has experienced negative situations in the past and is also afraid that this will happen again in the future, he/she may take measures to prevent this from happening. On many occasions and in the absence of alternatives, they choose to hide. This translates into socially hiding their sexual identity, so that they avoid expressing what they really feel and ultimately, who they really are.

Of course, this situation is not simple. Giving up one's identity is extremely painful and stressful. Therefore, the strategy is ambivalent, because on the one hand, the person is managing to avoid the pain and stress of the situation. the person is managing to avoid the discomfort generated by the criticisms of the people of the majority group as a result of prejudice and stigmatization, but on the other hand, he/she is paying a high costThe person is paying a high cost, which is that of hiding a very important part of him/herself.

Moreover, sometimes concealment does not even have that falsely positive side of avoiding stigmatization, because even if the person hides his or her sexual identity, this does not prevent him or her from witnessing situations in which individuals from the majority group reject others from the minority group in some way. In this case, even if the victimization has not happened in the first person, it has affected the bystander.

It should therefore be noted that this factor in Ian Meyer's minority stress model causes distress in several ways. First, because the person is forced to publicly renounce his or her sexual identity. Second, because this does not prevent him from witnessing situations of victimization towards peers of his minority group or others. And third, because his concealment prevents him from coming out in defense of these victims, so as not to be exposed himself.

4. Internalized homophobia

In recent years there have been great social changes in favor of the acceptance of different forms of sexual identity. But this does not mean that a number of homophobic ideas and beliefs no longer exist in many people.. More importantly, even among homosexuals and other minorities, there may also be internalized homophobic ideas.

How can this happen? It is due to having been brought up under specific schemes that, although they have clashed head-on with the person's own sexual orientation, have been very present for a long time in the individual's own beliefs. This factor of Ian Meyer's minority stress model would be another source of discomfort for these groups.

In this case individuals who experience this internalized homophobia and at the same time belong to sexual minority groups will suffer from cognitive dissonance.There will be an imbalance between the homophobic action (whether it is a comment, a quick thought or any other behavior) and their own identity. This process will increase the stress of these people.

5. Coping processes

The last of the main factors that can generate discomfort within Ian Meyer's minority stress model refers to the coping processes that the person may carry out to deal with acts of stigmatization received by individuals belonging to the majority group. This behavior also has a negative counterpart.

In this case, although the person tries to avoid being stigmatized by actively coping with the situation, he or she is confronted with the possible conflict that this entails.The victim is in the position of being victimized whether she does nothing or decides to do something about it. This means that in either scenario there is uncertainty about the possible repercussions.

Therefore, the very fact of facing situations involving stigmatization is also a stressor for the minority group member.

In conclusion

Having become acquainted in detail with all the processes underlying Ian Meyer's minority stress model, we can better understand what this author is referring to with his approach. What all the factors we have seen described have in common is that they would only be affecting those individuals whose sexual identity makes them fit into a minority group in that sense.

Therefore, the majority group, i.e., the entire group of people who would not have this feeling of belonging to these groups, would not suffer the forms of stigmatization that have been listed and consequently would not be affected by the possible repercussions of this accumulated stress, which could translate into health problems at the psychological and/or physical level.

Bibliographical references:

• Frost, D.M., Lehavot, K., Meyer, I.H. (2015). Minority stress and physical health among sexual minority individuals. Journal of behavioral medicine. Springer.
• Meyer, I.H. (1995). Minority stress and mental health in gay men. Journal of health and social behavior. JSTOR.
• Meyer, I.H., Frost, D.M.. (2013). Minority stress and the health of sexual minorities. C. J. Patterson & A. R. D'Augelli (Eds.), Handbook of psychology and sexual orientation. Oxford University Press.
• Meyer, I. H. (2015). Resilience in the study of minority stress and health of sexual and gender minorities. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.