Social Connectedness and Identity Resilience Buffer Against Minority Stress and Enhance Life Satisfaction in Ethnic and Sexual Minorities in the UK

Two studies examine the system of social psychological factors that are associated with life satisfaction in ethnic and sexual minorities in the United Kingdom (UK), through the lenses of identity process theory and minority stress theory. In Study 1, cross-sectional survey data from 372 British Black and South Asian people were analyzed using linear multiple regression. Results showed that the proximal stressor of discrimination-related identity threat was negatively associated with life satisfaction and that the social connectedness variables of ethnic, religious, and British national identification were positively associated with life satisfaction. In Study 2, cross-sectional survey data from 295 lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, also analyzed using linear multiple regression, showed that the social connectedness variables of being in a romantic relationship and interpersonal support and the psychological variable of identity resilience were positively associated with life satisfaction. Findings suggest that interventions that enable minority group members to develop social connectedness with meaningful groups and significant others as well as feelings of identity resilience may enhance life satisfaction in the face of minority stressors.