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Bridging the gap: Testing the associations of minority strength constructs on depression among Chinese sexual minority individuals
Author(s)
Date Issued
2026
Publisher
Hong Kong: Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Citation
Cheng, S. S., & Lau, H. P. (2026). Bridging the gap: Testing the associations of minority strength constructs on depression among Chinese sexual minority individuals. In Hong Kong Shue Yan University (Ed.). Conference proceeding of international conference on human resilience: Navigating life changes & challenges (HRCONF2026). International Conference on Human Resilience: Navigating Life Changes & Challenges (HRCONF2026), Hong Kong Shue Yan University (pp. 63). Hong Kong Shue Yan University.
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
About 5% of the population in China are sexual minority. Yet, the Confucian, collectivist and socialist norms may render their expression of sexual identity difficult in public and private. While minority stress theory highlights how distal (e.g., discriminatory events) and proximal (e.g., internalized homophobia) stressors result in health disadvantages among sexual
minorities, minority strength theory balances this deficit perspective by underscoring the salutary role of personal (e.g., identity pride) and collective (e.g., sense of community) strengths in coping with the minority identity. Hence, this study examined the mediating role of identity pride and internalized homophobia on the relationships between self-esteem,
sense of community and depression among a Chinese sexual minority sample. A total of 206 participants were recruited through targeted advertisements via Wenjuanxing for an online questionnaire (Mean age = 31.4 (SD = 6.63) years; 48.1% male, 45.1% female, 6.8% transgender or intersex; 54.4% homosexual, 43.2% bisexual, and 2.4% queer). 30.6% of the sample had mild depressive symptoms, whereas 17.5% suffered from moderate or more severe symptoms. As hypothesized, controlling for gender, age, education, socio-economic status and sexual orientation, identity pride emerged as a significant mediator of self-esteem, sense of community, and depression; yet, internalized homophobia mediated only the link from self-esteem, but not sense of community. Surprisingly, identity pride and depression were positively correlated. Altogether, 49.3% of variance of depression was predicted by the mediation model. Our findings highlight cultural differences regarding identity pride within the sexual minority population in Chinese culture, and will provide valuable insights for strength-based support to the population.
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