Mental health and well-being of the LGBTQ+ population: Religious trauma, and parental acceptance and support

Kiley-Morgan, Judith (2025) Mental health and well-being of the LGBTQ+ population: Religious trauma, and parental acceptance and support. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

Preview

PDF Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Background: LGBTQ+ people face discrimination on many fronts. Acceptance of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity is vital for psychological well-being. Equally, rejection is psychologically harmful. This portfolio aims to investigate two areas of acceptance and rejection of LGBTQ+ people, through an exploration of religious trauma, and parental acceptance and support.

Method: A systematic review synthesised the efficacy of interventions aimed at increasing parental acceptance and support for LGBTQ+ people. An empirical study investigated the psychological impact of religious trauma on LGBTQ+ people in the UK who grew up in an unaccepting Christian environment.

Results: The systematic review identified seven studies on seven different novel interventions. The review found preliminary evidence for the efficacy of the interventions for increasing parental acceptance and support. However, the small number of studies and lack of UK-based research limits generalisability and highlights the need for context-specific intervention development. The empirical study found that minority stress significantly predicted anxiety, depression and complex trauma in the study sample, but social safety did not. Anxiety and depression levels were significantly higher in the study sample than in a general UK population sample. Complex trauma levels were comparable to those in a UK trauma-exposed sample.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the critical role of parental acceptance and support, and the mental health impact associated with minority stress in unaccepting Christian environments, emphasising the need for targeted support and further research.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2025 09:59
Last Modified:	01 Dec 2025 09:59
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101157
DOI:

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item