Mental health differences between German gay and bisexual men and population-based controls

BACKGROUND: International studies have revealed that gay and bisexual men present more mental health problems than the general male population. Furthermore, there is evidence that minority stress predicts mental health problems in gay and bisexual men. The aim of the present study is to provide initial data on mental health differences in Germany and to analyze the effect of minority stress. METHODS: Mental health data on n = 1903 German gay and bisexual men and n = 958 men from a population-based sample were assessed using a shortened version of the SCL-90-S. The mental health of the two samples was compared. Furthermore, a linear regression was conducted for the gay and bisexual sample: mental health was used as the criterion and minority stressors as predictors. RESULTS: As compared to our population sample, gay and bisexual men demonstrated more mental health problems with a moderate effect size. In the regression, minority stress predicted mental health problems in the gay and bisexual sample. CONCLUSIONS: We observed pronounced mental health differences between gay and bisexual men versus the population sample. These differences could be at least partly due to the minority stress gay and bisexual men face. Research should focus on how to reduce and cope with minority stress. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1435-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.