title: A Comparative Analysis of a Community and General Sample of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals.
abstract: Samples recruited at lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) venues have certain benefits, but a major drawback is that these samples are prone to bias as they only contain LGB participants who visit such venues. Empirical data with regard to the potential differences between LGB community samples and LGB general samples may shed some light on the generalizability of research findings from convenience samples recruited through LGB venues. The current study attempted to contribute to existing knowledge by examining differences in social demographics, sexual orientation, minority stress, and mental health between a convenience sample recruited at LGB venues ("community sample," N = 3,403) and an LGB sample recruited from a general research panel in the Netherlands ("panel sample," N = 1,000). Various differences were found. In general, community participants were younger, reported a more exclusive same-sex sexual orientation, were more open about their sexual orientation, had lower levels of internalized homonegativity, and encountered more negative social reactions on their LGB status. They also reported higher levels of psychological distress and suicidality. The Nagelkerke R (2) of the analyses (which were adjusted for sociodemographic differences) ranged from .08 (suicide plans among men) to .27 (sexual attraction among women). However, while the estimates of sociodemographics, sexual orientation, minority stress, and mental well-being differed, the relationships between these constructs were comparable in both samples. Implications and suggestions for future studies are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Education, Minorities, and Methodology, The Netherlands Institute for Social Research, POB 16164, 2500 BD, The Hague, The Netherlands. l.kuyper@scp.nl.
authors.forename: Lisette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kuyper
authors.affiliation: Department of Education, Minorities, and Methodology, The Netherlands Institute for Social Research, POB 16164, 2500 BD, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fernee
authors.affiliation: Movisie, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Saskia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keuzenkamp
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bisexuality; Gay men; Homosexuality; Lesbians; Minority stress; Sexual orientation