title: Sexual orientation, internal migration, and mental health during the transition to adulthood.
abstract: Previous research has suggested that sexual minorities may have higher rates of migration than heterosexuals, indicating their effort to escape stigma in the currently residing areas. However, direct evidence for the migration pattern has been lacking, and mental health implications of such coping effort have been unclear. This study seeks to fill these gaps in the literature by analyzing the Add Health data, which include longitudinal measures of residential locations, sexual orientation, and mental health. The analysis focuses on the transition to adulthood, when the rate of internal migration peaks. Among women, sexual minorities have a higher rate of migration than heterosexuals, but men do not show such a difference. Sexual minorities show better mental health when they migrate to counties with higher proportions of people living in urban areas whereas heterosexuals do not show such an association. Among sexual minority men, migration to counties with higher population density and higher proportions of college-educated residents is also linked to better mental health.
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA kueno@fsu.edu.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vaghela
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Lacey J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Ritter
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics*; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D054525:Minority Health; D011157:Population Dynamics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012044:Regression Analysis; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D057545:Social Stigma; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: coping; internal migration; mental health; sexual orientation; tradition to adulthood