title: Rupture, resilience, and risk: relationships between mental health and migration among gay-identified men in North America.
abstract: An established body of research in psychology, psychiatry and epidemiology links social stigma and stress with poor mental and sexual health outcomes among gay-identified men. Less work considers how these linkages are mediated by place and almost none considers the role of movement across places. This qualitative study, based on the migration narratives of 48 gay-identified men living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Washington, D.C., U.S.A. gives more careful consideration to the ways in which mental and emotional health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance use) in this population both precipitate migration and stem from migration. The narratives show that decisions to migrate often emerge from men׳s experiences of place-based minority stress and associated health outcomes. At the same time, moving to urban gay communities, when coupled with other life circumstances, can create or reinforce physical and emotional insecurities that lead to low self-esteem, substance use and sexual risk-taking.
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, University of Nottingham, B-44 Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park, Nottingham NG72RD, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Nathaniel.lewis@nottingham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Nathaniel M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D063509:Homophobia / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012649:Self Concept; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Gay; HIV/AIDS; Mental health; Migration; Sexuality