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Updated: Aug 19, 2025

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
COVID-19 Stress and Sexual Identities
Wendy D Manning1, Claire M Kamp Dush2
1Bowling Green University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
None:
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has disrupted lives and resulted in high levels of stress. Although the evidence at the societal level is clear, there have been no population-based studies of pandemic-based stress focusing on individuals who identify as sexual minorities. Drawing on representative data collected during the pandemic, National Couples' Health and Time Study, the authors find that partnered (cohabiting or married) individuals who identified as sexual minorities experienced higher levels of stress than individuals who identified as heterosexual. However, variation exists observed among sexual minority adults. Although economic resources, discrimination, social and community support, and health conditions are tied to reported stress levels, they do not explain differentials according to sexual identity. These results provide evidence that sexual minority adults faced greater stress during the pandemic and the importance of recognizing that sexual minorities are not a monolithic group with varying stress responses to the pandemic.
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