Sexual orientation modulates endocrine stress reactivity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Biological sex differences and sociocultural gender diversity influence endocrine stress reactivity. Although numerous studies have shown that men typically activate stronger stress responses than women when exposed to laboratory-based psychosocial stressors, it is unclear whether sexual orientation further modulates stress reactivity. Given that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals frequently report heightened distress secondary to stigma-related stressors, we investigated whether cortisol stress reactivity differs between LGB individuals and heterosexual individuals in response to a well-validated psychosocial stressor.

Methods

The study population comprised 87 healthy adults (mean age, 25 years) who were grouped according to their biological sex and the

SUBMITTER: Juster RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4434405 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature