Sexual Identity and Alcohol-Related Outcomes: Contributions of Workplace Harassment
Introduction
Social science research addressing linkages between homosexuality and alcohol use and abuse has evolved substantially since early conceptualizations. Historically, research linked homosexuality with higher rates of alcohol use and alcoholism Saghir and Robins, 1973, Fifield, 1975, Fifield et al., 1977, Lohrenz et al., 1978, Lewis et al., 1982, and some studies suggested a causal relationship between homosexuality and alcoholism (see Israelstam and Lambert, 1983, Hall, 1993 for reviews). The basis for attributing the etiology of alcoholism to homosexuality can be traced to early psychoanalytic theory's stages of sexual development, with explanations ranging from oral fixation to the id's incomplete repression of same-sex sexual attraction (Israelstam and Lambert, 1983). Other theories proposed that alcohol use functioned to disinhibit or contain latent homosexuality (Hall, 1993).
However, some researchers have made the point that many of these studies suffered serious methodological flaws involving sampling, particularly those which used convenience samples of gay bar patrons (Nardi, 1982), did not include control groups as comparisons (Cabaj, 1996), or used a small number of case studies (Israelstam and Lambert, 1983). Recent studies employing more representative sampling reveal alcohol consumption rates that are less dramatically different from rates of heterosexuals. For example, lesbians and gay men were found to have lower rates of lifetime abstention compared to heterosexual women and men, but with lifetime abstention controlled, the differences in alcohol consumption between the two groups decreased McKirnan and Peterson, 1989a, Skinner and Otis, 1992. Some researchers have found no differences in light or moderate drinking between gay and heterosexual men, but did find higher rates of heavy drinking among gay men (Stall and Wiley, 1988). While lesbians reported higher rates of alcohol-related problems McKirnan and Peterson, 1989a, Skinner and Otis, 1992, Bloomfield, 1993 and greater utilization of alcohol treatment services (Hughes et al., 1997) compared to heterosexual women, they did not report greater alcohol consumption. Thus, differences in drinking patterns and problems between homosexual and heterosexual groups require further clarification.
With regard to etiology, recent research has moved away from focusing on a homosexuality-as-pathology model to stress and alienation models to explain alcohol abuse and related problems for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. These models view alcohol use as one mode of coping with stress and alienation by self-medicating distress and thus escaping stressful situations. Studies have demonstrated both direct linkages between stressful work experiences and drinking outcomes (Richman et al., 1999) or indirect linkages involving escapist drinking motives as mediators between stressors and drinking patterns (Greenberg and Grunberg, 1995). It is conceivable that drinking may be utilized to self-medicate work-engendered distress in situations where these motives are not always conscious (Richman et al., 1997). With regard to stressful work experiences linked to sexual orientation, McKirnan and Peterson (1989b) found that stress from sexual orientation-based discrimination was related to increased alcohol problems in gay men who exhibited vulnerability to stress.
Research utilizing the stress/alienation paradigm to explain drinking behaviors has focused major attention on workplace stressors Sonnenstuhl and Trice, 1991, Richman et al., 1996, Richman et al., 1997. Negative workplace interactions that are experienced routinely have been linked to greater stress-induced mental health problems than major life events. In terms of sexual identity, gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women are particularly vulnerable to these routine negative interactions, or “daily hassles” (DiPlacido, 1998, p. 138). Workplace harassment has been found to be a particularly problematic work stressor for lesbians and gay men. Gay and lesbian employees in Norris' (1991) study reported experiences such as verbal insults (40%) and threats of exposure of sexual identity (19%). D'Augelli (1989) found that lesbians and gay men experienced harassment ranging from verbal insults (76%) to threats of violence (26%) and actual violence (4%). However, because these studies have examined non-sexual forms of harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, it is difficult to predict how the prevalence of non-sexual forms of harassment will differ between gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals and heterosexuals. Comparisons between lesbians and heterosexual women regarding their experiences with sexual harassment have been made. Lesbians reported a greater number of sexual harassment experiences, and defined a larger number of behaviors as sexually harassing, compared to heterosexual women (Schneider, 1982).
Workplace harassment can be particularly stressful for gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees because it can be compounded by (or result from) pre-existing expressions of homophobia or perceived vulnerability in one's job due to one's sexual orientation. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women who have experienced harassment in an academic setting rarely report the experience to campus authorities, often citing a fear of being treated poorly by campus administration or a fear of public exposure and thus, additional harassment (Herek, 1993). Lesbians are more likely than heterosexual women to perceive unwanted sexual approaches as problematic for working women and to define a broader range of experiences as sexually harassing (Schneider, 1982). Sexual harassment, when perpetrated by the opposite sex, generally carries with it an assumption that the target of the harassment is heterosexual, requiring gay and lesbian employees to decide whether or not to reveal their sexual orientation. Reporting any type of harassment, regardless of the sex of the perpetrator, may involve revealing one's sexual orientation. Because lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees are not identifiable by physical characteristics, being harassed can force them to decide whether to “pass” as heterosexual or “come out” as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and both choices involve particular psychological demands that result in stress Woods, 1993, Greene, 1994. Openness about sexual orientation can also threaten job security, which is particularly important for lesbians and bisexual women who generally have less financial support from male partners Schneider, 1993, Dunne, 1997. Such work-related stress can “spillover” into other aspects of a person's life, precipitating generalized life dissatisfaction that is then self-medicated with alcohol (Martin et al., 1992).
This article utilizes data from a university employee survey of workplace harassment and alcohol use and alcohol-related problems to examine the salience of sexual identification. Three sets of hypotheses are tested:
- 1.
Problem drinking, but not alcohol consumption, is higher for gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women compared to heterosexual men and women, but the difference is not as dramatic as previous research with flawed sampling has indicated. Escapist drinking motives are also higher for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals compared to heterosexuals.
- 2.
Gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women are more likely to experience sexual harassment than heterosexual men and women. Lesbians are more vulnerable than heterosexual women to one particular component of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual attention, based on previous findings (Schneider, 1982). They will therefore report higher levels of this type of harassment than heterosexual women. Gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women are also more likely to experience generalized workplace abuse (GWA), compared to heterosexual men and women. Gay men and lesbians should be more vulnerable than heterosexual men and women to two components of GWA, isolation/exclusion and threats/bribery, based on previous findings Cain, 1991, Herek, 1993, Woods, 1993 and therefore will report higher levels of these types of abuse than will heterosexuals.
- 3.
Gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women will report greater alcohol consumption, particularly heavy and problem drinking, and greater escapist motives for drinking associated with sexual harassment and GWA experiences compared to heterosexuals. We expect that unwanted sexual attention, isolation/exclusion, and unwanted sexual attention will elicit greater increases in the alcohol outcomes for gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals than overall sexual harassment and GWA, and greater increases compared to heterosexuals.
Section snippets
Sampling and Data Collection
Data were obtained from a mail survey of employees at an urban American university. The sample was stratified by gender and occupation into eight strata. Occupational groups included faculty, graduate student workers/trainees (research and teaching assistants, medical residents, and postdoctoral fellows), clerical/secretarial workers, and service/maintenance workers. For the purposes of this article, occupational differences were not analyzed although occupation was controlled for in all
Results
Table 1 contains the percentages (for dichotomous variables) and means with standard deviations (for continuous variables) for the outcome variables for heterosexual and homosexual/bisexual men and women. Note that these analyses do not control for age, race, or occupation. Gay/bisexual men had significantly higher rates of drinking to intoxication, heavy episodic drinking, and sexual harassment experiences compared to heterosexual men. Lesbian/bisexual women also had significantly higher rates
Discussion
The findings from this study qualify conclusions from earlier research suggesting that gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women have higher rates of alcohol consumption than heterosexual men and women. Lesbian/bisexual women did report more alcohol-related problems, as indicated by higher MAST scores, and higher heavy episodic drinking, drinking to intoxication, and greatest quantity of drinking. However, their drinking frequency, quantity, and escape motives were comparable to those of
Acknowledgements
Work on this article was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant #R01AA09989 and the National Institute of Mental Health grant #R24MH54212.
The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Survey Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago for their expertise in data collection.
References (53)
A comparison of alcohol consumption between lesbians and heterosexual women in an urban population
Drug Alcohol Depend
(1993)- et al.
The incidence and dimensions of sexual harassment in academia and the workplace
J Voc Behav
(1988) - et al.
The structure of sexual harassment: A confirmatory analysis across cultures and settings
J Voc Behav
(1995) - et al.
Alcohol and drug use among homosexual men and women: Epidemiology and population characteristics
Addict Behav
(1989) - et al.
Psychosocial and cultural factors in alcohol and drug abuse: An analysis of a homosexual community
Addict Behav
(1989) - et al.
A comparison of alcohol and drug use patterns of homosexual and heterosexual men: The San Francisco Men's Health Study
Drug Alcohol Depend
(1988) Substance abuse in gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals
- et al.
American Drinking Practices
(1969) Stigma management and gay identity development
Soc Work
(1991)Lesbians' and gay men's experiences of discrimination and harassment in a university community
Am J Community Psychol
(1989)
Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method
Minority stress among lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals: A consequence of heterosexism, homophobia, and stigmatization
Lesbian lifestyles
On My Way to Nowhere: Alienated, Isolated, Drunk
Alcoholism and the Gay Community: The Price of Alienation, Isolation, and Oppression
Measuring sexual harassment: Theoretical and psychometric advances
Lesbian and gay male dimensions in the psychological study of human diversity
Work alienation and problem alcohol behavior
J Health Soc Behav
Lesbian and gay sexual orientations: Implications for clinical training, practice, and research
Sex and the Workplace
Sex differences in coping and depression among adults
Soc Sci Med
Lesbians and alcohol: Patterns and paradoxes in medical notions and lesbians' beliefs
J Psychoact Drugs
Documenting prejudice against lesbians and gay men on campus: The Yale orientation survey
J Homosexuality
Lesbians and mental health: Preliminary results from the Chicago Women's Health Survey
J Gay Lesbian Med Assoc
Homosexuality as a cause of alcoholism: A historical review
Int J Addict
Attributions and assignment of responsibility in sexual harassment
J Soc Issues
Cited by (40)
Stress and substance use among sexual and gender minority individuals across the lifespan
2019, Neurobiology of StressCitation Excerpt :Such actions of discrimination have been linked to especially substance use and abuse in subsets of the SGM population. Workplace harassment and stress have been linked to greater alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems in sexual minority women employed on a college campus (Nawyn et al., 2000), job loss has been found to be related to smoking and substance use in a national subset of TGNC individuals (Shires and Jaffee, 2015), and methamphetamine and crack/cocaine use has been cited as a means of coping with work stress in a community sample of sexual minority men (Diaz, Heckert and Sánchez, 2005). As SGM individuals progress in adulthood, they may also face greater community discrimination even beyond the workplace.
Sexual identity, same-same relationships, and health dynamics: New evidence from Australia
2018, Economics and Human BiologyRisk factors and outcomes of chronic sexual harassment during the transition to college: Examination of a two-part growth mixture model
2016, Social Science ResearchCitation Excerpt :SH can be especially upsetting or distressing when experienced by sexual minority youth (Mitchell et al., 2014). Moreover, SH experienced by sexual minority individuals may place them at an increased risk for negative outcomes; sexual minority youth have typically reported poorer mental and physical health outcomes and higher rates of substance use problems compared to their heterosexual peers (Gruber and Fineran, 2008; Nawyn et al., 1999; Williams et al., 2005). The current study sought to more formally test potential links among sexual orientation, SH victimization, and mental health and substance use outcomes.
Sexual orientation, treatment utilization, and barriers for alcohol related problems: Findings from a nationally representative sample
2016, Drug and Alcohol DependenceCitation Excerpt :Sexual minority groups, specifically gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals (GLB), are one of many understudied groups associated with alcohol related treatment utilization. This is unfortunate and regrettable as past research has shown that GLB individuals were more likely to engage in alcohol use, and to experience alcohol use disorders, when compared to heterosexual individuals (Amadio, 2006; Hughes, 2005; Hughes and Eliason, 2002; Nawyn et al., 2000). In fact, there is compelling research that GLB individuals engaged in alcohol use and treatment utilization differently.
The impact of minority stress on mental health and substance use among sexual minority women
2011, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology