Free Custom «Mustanski» Essay Paper

Mustanski et al. (2010) study focused on the mental health disorders, psychological distress, and suicidality in a diverse sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. The studies that were earlier on undertaken had minimal focus on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults, although there has been a focus on the associations by subgroup concerning sexual orientations. The gap that existed in the previous studies enabled the researchers to undertake this study. Ideally, the current state of knowledge about the mental health of LGB youth was scarce. One of the limitations was that the previous studies were embodied to suicidal intentions and attempts instead of mental health disorders.

The study sampled 246 ethnic diverse youths aged between 16 and 20 years, and living in Chicago area. Interviews were conducted, and questionnaires subjected to them (Mustanski et al., 2010). The questions were primarily concerned with sexual lives—whether gay, lesbian, transgender among others. In addition, diagnostic assessment was undertaken to ascertain the reliability of the data. In analyzing the data collected, the research used frequency distribution tables and standard errors for the entire sample and demographic subsamples. The BSI 18 undertaken showed a better negative predictive value; 90% of negative cases did not meet the criteria for significant depression. This was in contrary to the set hypothesis. Bisexually identified youths had significantly lower odds of being positive for the “any diagnosis” composite and lifetime suicide attempts. Despite this disparity, the study was significant as it highlights the importance of equating commonly used self-report measures of psychological distress with a DSM-IV diagnosis of depression. The use of such measures has been the primary method for studying sexual orientation differences in depression among youths. The study encourages the assessment of sexual orientation in future population-based studies of DSM-IV diagnosis, to fully characterize mental health disparities experiences by this group.