How Does the Minority Stress Model Communicate with Brazilian Sexual Minority Women’s Mental Health?

Objectives To assess the association of the Minority Stress Model to Brazilian sexual minority women’s mental health, by evaluating whether resilience, internalized homonegativity, anticipation of rejection and experiences of discrimination were associated with depressive symptomatology.Methods An instrument based on the TransPulse Project was developed and culturally adapted for the Brazilian context. Data were collected through a web-based respondent-driven sampling method. Participants were cisgender women, older than 16 years, who have sex with other women, living in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A total of 266 women were included in the final analysis.Results A hierarchical linear regression (using force-entry) and a structural equation modeling supported the applicability of the Minority Stress Model to this population. Enacted stigma was the only minority stressor independently associated with depressive symptomatology. Anticipation of rejection and internalized homonegativity operated differently than described in North American male samples.Conclusion The Minority Stress Model is applicable to Brazilian sexual minority women’s mental health, though with culturally specific patterns. In a sociocultural context where enacted stigma is pervasive, public health interventions should prioritize its reduction as a primary target. Clinicians working with this population should be aware that internalized homonegativity may not directly predict depression in Latin American women as it does in other groups, and that fostering resilience represents a meaningful and modifiable protective pathway.