Date of Award
5-1-2020
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Knutson, Douglas
Abstract
I investigated the associations between perceived support from chosen family, perceived support from family of origin, resilience, and depression/anxiety outcomes in LGBTQ+ adults. I ran hierarchical linear regressions to determine whether perceived chosen family support predicted depression outcomes, a binary logistic regression to determine whether chosen family support predicts high or low anxiety, and Pearson correlations to detect significant associations between the variables. I also performed a Social Network Analysis to create a prototypical chosen family unit. The results suggest that the contribution of biological family support to mental health outcomes in LGBTQ+ people may outweigh support from chosen family, and I concluded that chosen family may not be an adequate replacement or surrogate to the support LGBTQ+ people might receive from the family of origin. The social network analysis revealed that participants feel the most support from their best friends and friends which contradicts the regression results.
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