LGBQ Activism and Positive Psychological Functioning: The Roles of Meaning, Community Connection, and Coping

In this study, we examined the relations between participation in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) activism and posttraumatic growth and positive affect among 516 sexual minority persons. We also examined meaning in life, community connection, and problem-solving coping as potential explanatory variables in these links. We found that more participation in LGBQ activism was related to greater posttraumatic growth and more positive affect at the bivariate level. We also found that participation in LGBQ activism was indirectly related to posttraumatic growth through meaning in life, community connection, and problem-solving coping. Participation in LGBQ activism was indirectly related to positive affect through meaning in life and problem-solving coping. That is, more participation in LGBQ activism was related to more meaning in life, greater community connection, and more active coping when dealing with minority stress, which in turn was related to greater positive psychological functioning. When working with LGBQ clients, professionals might explore activism-based strategies as a potential collective coping response to heterosexism that may foster positive psychological outcomes. Public Significance Statement Results show that participation in LGBQ activism may enhance one's sense of meaning in life, encourage community connection, and facilitate problem-solving coping strategies, all important factors that may in turn contribute to positive psychological outcomes among sexual minority persons.