Anxiety Among Sexual Minoritized Subgroups: An Investigation into the Disproportionately High Rates of Social Anxiety Among Emerging Identity Populations

Sexual minoritized individuals report higher rates of social anxiety than the general population, and research suggests that those belonging to emerging sexual identities are particularly vulnerable. The few existing interventions targeting anxiety in sexual minoritized populations tend to ignore subgroup differences, so the present study proposes an adaptation of an existing CBT-based intervention tailored to pansexual individuals. In addition, existing research offers contradictory findings about emerging identity individuals’ experiences of social anxiety, notably regarding specific subgroup differences. Therefore, in the present study, a survey was conducted to measure social anxiety among sexual minoritized populations. Findings suggest that emerging identity sexual minoritized populations experience significantly higher levels of social anxiety compared to established sexual minoritized populations. However, there were no significant differences between specific sexuality subgroups. Qualitative analyses revealed that fear of judgment from society broadly and from within sexual minoritized communities are important factors impacting social anxiety experiences among sexual minoritized participants. The present qualitative findings also highlighted gaps in research regarding asexual and aromantic spectrum subgroups, whose identities are rarely respectfully and accurately included in the social anxiety literature. Future research should more thoroughly examine the factors associated with disproportionate rates of social anxiety among emerging identity subgroups and integrate these unique factors into tailored treatment designs.