Paper Example on Mental Health among the LGBTI Community

Introduction

Mental health issues exemplify major healthcare problems that the LGBTI community face. The predominance of mental health concerns among the LGBTI is exceptionally high and has led to significant economic and social consequences. In the post-millennia era, most nations have implemented policies that prioritize inclusive mental health services to cater to the LGBTI persons' mental health needs. Consequently, there has been improved emphasis on the significance of promoting mental wellbeing to prevent the proliferation of mental health conditions in society. Stakeholders in the healthcare sector have strived to integrate a framework that focuses on the implementation and development of policies that promote mental health to mitigate mental health problems in the LGBTI community. Discrimination and harassment on the LGBTI should be addressed if effective and inclusive mental health initiatives are to be incorporated locally and internationally. An inclusive mental health strategy should address critical social determinants to reduce mental health problems among LGBTI persons, especially embedded heterosexist practices and beliefs. An assessment of the LGBTI's wellbeing and health illustrates that the issue of mental health conditions varies considerably between mainstream and LGBTI communities. The variations in patterns and rates of mental ill-health among LGBTI persons are associated with discrepancies in violence and discrimination, intersex status, gender identity, sexuality, and social connection.

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Social Determinants

Violence and Discrimination

Population health assessment on LGBTI communities offer some insights into violence, harassment, and discrimination that seem to be the most influential social determinant. According to Greifinger, Batchelor and Fair (2013), people can experience various forms of discrimination: social class, religion, age, sexual preference, intersex status, gender, and trace. Moreover, several studies have acknowledged the relationship between discrimination and suicide risk factors. McCann and Sharek (2014), presented persuasive evidence on the effect of heterosexist violence and discrimination on LGBTI individuals' mental wellbeing. The allegations express heterosexist discrimination associated with transphobia, guilt, self-denial, family rejection, and social isolation that serve as obstacles to accessing social and health services. Hence, the link between self-harm and homophobic abuse in youths has been documented in numerous national studies. The prevalence of suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and self-harm among LGBTQI youths who have experienced verbal or physical abuse is relatively high compared to their colleagues who had not undergone any form of abuse. As a result, analytical reviews have indicated that participants experienced transphobia and homophobia due to harassment, cyberbullying, and social exclusion.

Experiences of transphobic or homophobic verbal and physical abuse have been linked to increased drug and alcohol abuse among young people that trigger mental health issues. Greifinger et al. (2013), argued that the high substance abuse rates among LGBTI adults are associated with the gay lifestyle and sociability. Research suggests that high drug use rates are connected to homophobic abuse. Hence, most of the LGBTI youths are self-medicating to relieve the hostility and rejection in their communities, schools, and families.

Gender Identity

Most population surveys revealed that transgender persons have poorer mental wellbeing that increases their suicide risk compared to bisexual and same-sex people. Greifinger et al. (2013), argued that 38.3% and 50% of transgender males and females respectively had experienced despair in the past three years compared with 33.9% of females and 24.5% of males in the mainstream population. Hence, transgender males were more susceptible to experience episodes of anxiety in the past year compared to other males based on the statistical data. Therefore, transgender females and males recorded the highest psychological distress levels.

An Australian LGBTI mental health review showed that most of the transgender Australians had suicidal thoughts and attempts at least once in their life. McCann and Sharek, (2014), alleged that a similar study in the United Kingdom indicated that 48% of their transgender respondents admitted to having attempted suicide in their life. The study revealed that the youth were more vulnerable to suicide risk than other groups. A similar report from the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne revealed that their transgender youth patients had reported depression or anxiety symptoms and most of them had nurtured suicidal thoughts.

Social Connection

Most of the statistical assessment on LGBTI suicide and mental health intervention focuses on the negative effect of heterosexist discrimination. Nonetheless, several stakeholders are determined to reveal the positive influence of social participation and connection on one's mental wellbeing, and the probable mitigation strategies on the discrimination and harassment experiences. According to WHO, there three protective aspects that affect the onset or recurrence of mental ill-health (McConnell, Birkett & Mustanski, 2015). The protective factors compromise supportive relationships, supportive social networks, and a sense of affection. Skerrett and Mars (2014), argued that supportive relationships mitigate adverse mental health discrimination effects. For instance, social participation and supportive relationships serve as protective elements against the harmful effects of heterosexist discrimination. Therefore, a social connection has a significant impact on members of the stigmatized and marginalized populations, especially the LGBTI people.

Sexuality

Research reveals that persons classified as bisexual have a relatively poor mental health status compared to their heterosexual or same-sex colleagues. According to McConnell et al. (2015), bisexual men and women experience higher psychological distress than gays and lesbians. Bisexuals experience high psychological stress levels that vary from 20.5 to 21.8 that contribute to their general poor mental health (Skerrett & Mars, 2014). However, the statistics showed significant disparities in mental ill-health between bisexual men and women. For instance, bisexual women are more prone to be diagnosed with anxiety compared to bisexual men. The data is comparable to the American review and studies on comparative mental health analysis on heterosexuals and bisexuals that recorded more mental health issues among bisexual females than bisexual men.

Intersex Status

The lack of descriptive data on intersex individuals and the insignificant number of intersex interviewees in the LGBTI surveys makes it difficult to evaluate their mental health against LGBT people. Nonetheless, anecdotal reports and evidence on intersex suggest that intersex persons are prone to specific pressures that propagated their mental ill-health risk. Firstly, trauma linked to medical examinations and recurrent surgical treatment that extended from childhood to adolescence (Skerrett & Mars, 2014). Secondly, physical issues related to avoidable childhood genital operation that lead to chronic pain, urinary problems, scarring, and genital sensitivity impairment. Thirdly, negative body issues such as sexual intimacy problems due to genital difference. Lastly, the dissonance between the intersex person's gender identity and their surgically assigned sex.

LGBTI Mental Health Promotion

Fostering strong partnership across and within society, especially among people outside the healthcare system is vital in promoting LGBTI mental health. Besides, influencing the social determinants will not be accomplished by social workers alone, but through a multidisciplinary and intersectional approach involving practice, policy, and research through environmental, arts, justice, education, and employment changes. Even though same-sex attraction, intersex conditions, and gender dysphoria are not pathogenic, they make LGBTI people susceptible to discrimination and negative experiences that increase their risk to develop mental health conditions. Discrimination is a polemical issue that has led to family conflicts and estranged social relationships that have resulted in limited emotional support (Greifinger et al., 2013). Consequently, social workers should focus on integrating a salutogenic approach to provide comprehensive strategies that aim at increasing resiliency to strengthen protective mental wellbeing factors.

Mental health promotion strategies should not be limited to direct participation initiatives such as educational programs. For example, legislative and policy reforms should be mutually reinforced. Environmental and legal modifications can deliver substantial and constant benefits once they have been established. Nowadays, the LGBTI mental wellbeing promotion has been addressed through public education, policy, and legislation that have an insightful effect on the public's understanding of intersex minorities and gender identity in society (McConnell et al., 2015). Likewise, public institutions should raise people's awareness of LGBTI's collective and individual worth. Social workers should collaborate with public institutions to enhance the resilience and strengths of LGBTI communities and individuals to promote LGBTI's social participation and connection in mainstream networks and organizations. They should implement initiatives that are participatory and respectful, where cultural diversity and heritage is valued and acknowledged. Moreover, social workers need to include LGBTI persons in the establishment of mental health promotion policies. For that reason, social workers should initiate a framework that guarantees the implementation and development of mental health strategies that address contentious LGBTI issues.

Conclusion

Mental health issues exemplify major health problems that the LGBTI community face. In the 21st century, most countries have initiated policies that prioritize inclusive mental health services to cater to LGBTI persons' mental health needs. The variations in patterns and rates of mental ill-health among LGBTI persons are associated with discrepancies in violence and discrimination, intersex status, gender identity, sexuality, and social connection. The allegations express heterosexist discrimination associated with transphobia, guilt, self-denial, family rejection, and social isolation that serve as obstacles to accessing social and health services. Analytical reviews have shown that most LGBTI individuals experienced transphobia and homophobia due to harassment, cyberbullying, and social exclusion. Research suggests that high drug use rates are connected to homophobic abuse. Most of the LGBTI youths are self-medicating to relieve the hostility and rejection in their communities, schools, and families. A social connection has a significant impact on members of the stigmatized and marginalized populations, especially the LGBTI people. An LGBTI mental health review showed that most of the transgender persons had suicidal thoughts and attempts at least once in their life. The insufficient descriptive data on intersex individuals and the little number of intersex interviewees in the LGBTI surveys makes it difficult to evaluate their mental health against LGBT people. Social workers should focus on integrating a salutogenic approach to provide comprehensive strategies that aim at increasing resiliency to strengthen protective mental wellbeing factors. Therefore, social workers should initiate a framework that guarantees the implementation and development of mental health strategies that address co...