We conducted an intensive longitudinal study of sexual minority adolescents to address gaps in the literature, limitations in retrospective reporting, and test tenets of the minority stress model. We examined the frequency of daily minority stressors and their within-person associations with negative and positive affect. We also tested the moderating effects of depressive symptomology on these associations. Sexual minority adolescents (N = 94; 35.1% were bisexual; 31.9% were gender minority; 45.2% were racial/ethnic minority), ages 12-18 years old (M = 16.1, SD = 1.5), were recruited from the community and completed a baseline questionnaire and then a 21-day daily dairy (82.5% response rate). Participants experienced at least one minority stressor, with an average of 16.96 minority stressors (SD = 18.7, Range: 0-83), over the 21-day monitoring period. Some minority stressors were more commonly experienced than others (e.g., vicarious minority stress) and most participants attributed their sexual orientation to these stressors. Participants also attributed other marginalized identities to these stressors (e.g., gender identity, race). Daily minority stressors were associated with greater negative affect but not positive affect. Participants had greater negative affect on days where sexual-orientation-specific minority stressors were endorsed compared to days where minority stressors were not reported. These associations were not moderated by depression symptomology. The results underscore that minority stressors are pervasive experiences of sexual minority adolescents' daily life and natural environment and they are associated with daily emotions. The findings have implications for the minority stress model and future research and interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Background: Considerable research efforts have attempted to identify genes associated with alcoholism among adults, yet few studies have examined adolescents. Identifying genes associated with alcohol misuse in youth is important given that the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences on alcoholism varies across development. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between a polymorphism of the μ‐opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) and alcohol misuse in a sample of youth and to test whether heightened sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of alcohol mediated this relationship. Methods: Adolescents (n =187; mean age = 15.4 years; 47.6% female) were genotyped for A118G (rs1799971), a single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the OPRM1 gene, and assessed for alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnoses and other psychopathology. Alcohol misuse was also measured continuously to maximize detection of drinking problems in youth. Drinking motives were used to capture the extent to which youth consumed alcohol to enhance positive affect. Results: AUD groups differed significantly in terms of allelic distributions of the A118G SNP, such that 51.9% of youth with an AUD carried at least one copy of the G allele compared to 16.3% of non‐AUD controls. Those who carried the G allele endorsed drinking to enhance positive affect more strongly than those who were homozygous for the A allele and drinking to enhance positive affect mediated the association between OPRM1 and alcohol‐related problems. Conclusions: These data build on findings from adult studies and provide the first evidence that a polymorphism of the OPRM1 receptor gene is associated with the development of early‐onset alcohol‐related problems during adolescence, in part, by heightening sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of alcohol.