An Open Access article published in the Health Behavior and Policy Review Journal.

Authors:

Ty A. Robinson, EdM
Nathan Grant Smith, PhD
Ezemenari M. Obasi, PhD
Lorraine R. Reitzel, PhD, FAAHB, FSRNT

Objective:

In this study, we examined how internalized homonegativity (IH), a non-adaptive cognitive response to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) minority stressors, related to the manifestation of somatic anxiety symptoms and reduced the likelihood of being a former smoker.

Methods:

Participants (N = 77) smoked ≥ 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, some of whom successfully quit their use (N = 23 former smokers). The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale and the State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety were used to assess IH and somatic anxiety.

Results:

Current smokers experienced higher IH rates than former smokers (former = 0, current = 1; b = .65, p < .05). IH was positively associated with somatic anxiety (b = .17, p < .001), and the association between IH and smoking status was mediated through somatic anxiety (b = .17; CI = [.0002, .6539]).

Conclusions:

One’s experience with IH may be a risk factor for psychological distress and continued smoking. Current findings can aid in the development of future longitudinal or experimental studies to examine the causality between IH and somatic anxiety and include confounding variables.

Source: Health Behavior and Policy Review, Volume 11, Number 3, June 2024, pp. 1549-1557(9)
Publisher: Paris Scholar Publishing Ltd.
Article Link: https://doi.org/10.14485/HBPR.11.3.1