Substance Abuse in LGBT Community: Factors and Implications

Running head: LGBT COMMUNITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction:
From a decade, substance abuse is a highly prevalent problem in the lesbian, gay and
bisexual community of Ireland (Wallace and Santacruz 2017). Although the significant number
of individuals of the community is able to live freely without the fear of rejection or any other
stigma, the stigmatized behavior is still present in the community (Wallace and Santacruz
2017). A considerate number of literature documented that in the LGBT network, the substance
abuse is always higher compared to the individuals who are heterosexual because of inability to
deal with life experiences (Joyce et al. 2018). Researchers identified that apart from the stress
associated with life, the additional stress associated with being a sexual minority group has been
a potential contributor to substance abuse. (Joyce et al. 2018). They tend to experience the fear
of rejection and isolation and adopt the habit of frequent substance abuse (Dennis 2019). It is not
surprising that they are exposed to psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression and post-
traumatic stress disorders because of the stress they are unable to cope with. The youth workers
reported that 27% of the individuals have a tendency of self-harm and 16 years is the age where
individuals tend to involve in the act of self-harm such as suicide (Corkery et al. 2017). On
another level, the psychological illness and tendency of self-harm are induced by the drugs they
are consuming. The drugs reduce the inhibition associated with the behavior such as unprotected
sex, reckless driving (Beasley, Jenkins and Valenti 2015). Even the health professionals failed to
provide safe and responsive care which further contributed to a high morbidity rate. This paper
will provide a background of the issue, literature review, aim of the research, research questions,
methodology, and expected outcome in the following paragraphs.

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Background of the issue:
Substance abuse is defined as the addition of consuming drugs which are not legal.
There has been growing concern in recent years regarding the recreational drug use by teenagers
and young adults in Ireland where researchers highlighted serious psychological issues
associated with the drug use (Robson 2011). As discussed by Nolan (2018), LGBT people are
substantially more likely to involve in substance abuse compared to heterosexual individuals
(three times higher). A quarter survey in north Ireland suggested that approximately 52% of the
transgender are associated with drug abuse compared to north Ireland population (Ledwith and
Springett 2010). 91% of the LGBT community is involved in drinking alcohol compared to 74%
of the north Ireland pupation. Emotional and psychological distress results from the
stigmatization behavior are perhaps the most significant reason behind involving in the drug
abuse (Pirona et al. 2017). Researchers suggested that they tend to involve in drug abuse
because of the lack of access to health care services. 83% of the individuals of the community
reported that the majority of the health care services they receive are not suitable for them
because of the stigmatized behavior of the health professionals (Corkery et al. 2018). They are
not comfortable to share their issues with health professionals and what kind of drugs they use.
Consequently, this phenomenon contributed to a higher prevalence of substance abuse (Aromin
2016).
Literature review:
A substantial amount of research has been conducted abortive regarding the reasons
behind the high prevalence of substance abuse amongst the LGBT community (Wallace and
Santacruz 2017). However, lack of comprehensive literature regarding the tendency of taking
drugs amongst the young adults of adolescents of LGBT community contributed to lack of

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identification of the reason behind high prevalence and inability to design accurate framework
which can support the wellbeing of the community (Pirona et al. 2017). Yet it is increasingly
accepted cultural stigmatization of homosexuality creates negative prejudices evens amongst the
gay community (Pirona et al. 2017). Consequently, individuals with different sexual orientation
experience sexual discrimination in the community which further exposed them to psychological
distress. As discussed by Slater et al. (2017) some gay and lesbian individuals failed to accept
their sexual identity fully which resulted in personal vulnerabilities, a dominant fear of rejection
and insecurities. A considerate number of individuals experience psychological distress because
of homelessness due to sexual orientation. This is further manifested as lack of self-esteem, lack
of self-confidence, empowerment, and anxiety. The researchers used logistic regression for
analyzing the association between discrimination and substance abuse measures amongst 1351
gay, lesbian and adults who are unsure about their sexual orientations. The researchers
highlighted that sexual discrimination and inadequate literacy are major reasons behind the high
risk of involving in the selective use of drugs. Drugs and alcohol often provide individuals with
the opportunity to cop up with their personal insecurities, boost self-esteem, thus reducing social
anxiety they experienced. The tendency of taking drugs increased to the extent where the ability
to interact with surroundings and society without taking drugs gradually deteriorate. The drug
induces certain neurotransmitters that reduce the anxiety or tension associated with a social
gathering and thus it is desirable in the LGBT culture. Kerr et al. (2017) conducted a systematic
review regarding the LGBT population and substance abuse on the peer-reviewed journal
suggested. The findings suggested that not only sexual discrimination increases the higher risk of
substance abuse within the LGBT community, the stigmatized behavior of the community, lack
of access to the health care services, inadequate literacy, but lack of empowerment are also