Sexual orientation disclosure and depression among Thai gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: The roles of social support and intimate partner violence

by Eduardo Encina, Worawalan Waratworawan, Yamol Kongjareon, Mayur M. Desai, Thomas E. Guadamuz

Among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM), sexual orientation disclosure to social groups can act as a significant risk for depression. The primary goal of this research is to understand the association between disclosure and depression, the association of social support and intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences, depression, and disclosure.

This project uses a secondary dataset of Thailand from a larger cross-sectional study distributed in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. This study utilized web-based answers from 1468 Thai GBM respondents between the ages of 15–24 years.

Prevalence of depression was over 50%. Across the social groups of interest, those who disclosed to everyone had the lowest depression prevalence. This association was statistically significant for all groups (p<0.050) except for “Family members” (p = 0.052). There was a statistically significant association illustrated between full disclosure to social groups and increased social support. Most respondents (43.9%) had low social support, and additionally this group had the highest level of depression, compared to those with high social support. There was a statistically significant association for lowered depression outcomes and increased social support. IPV experiences that occurred within the last six months had a statistically significant relationship with depression (p = 0.002). There was a notable association between those with experiences of being a victim of IPV, alone and in conjunction with experience of being a perpetrator of IPV, which was associated with increased odds of depression. However, the type of IPV experiences an individual had did not differ based on disclosure status.

This study provides strengthened evidence of the impact that differences in supportive networks can have on mental health outcomes. In addition, they provided a wider consideration for how people may have different IPV experiences, either as a perpetrator, victim, or both, and how those shapes health outcomes of depression. GBM communities still face adversity and challenges that affect their long-term health outcomes, even if they do live in what is considered an accepting country.