Sexual orientation stigma is uniquely associated with borderline personality disorder symptoms

What is it about?

Discrimination due to sexual orientation identity is uniquely associated with more severe borderline personality disorder symptoms. However, the capacity to extend kindness and compassion to oneself is related to less severe symptoms. We demonstrate these findings in a sample of sexual minority adults in Malaysia, who face substantial risk for persecution and lack access to affirming mental health services.

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Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash

Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings show that sexual orientation stigma uniquely contributes to poorer mental health, above and beyond other established factors related to borderline personality disorder (e.g., childhood invalidation experiences). Adaptive self-perceptions, such as self-compassion, may be protective. These findings highlight important risk and protective factors that underlie mental health disparities among sexual minorities, particularly those living in highly stigmatizing and resource-limited contexts.