Browsing by Author "Cheatham, Alexandra"

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    Mental Health Disparities Among Caregivers: Implications for Gender and Sexual Minorities
    (2018) Cheatham, Alexandra
    Informal caregiving in the United States is an extremely commonplace way of assisting and providing for family and friends. Informal caregivers are typically unpaid, female family members investing significant time and mental energy into caring for friends and loved ones. Yet, caregivers themselves can experience adverse mental health outcomes as a result. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) caregivers are an understudied population in the caregiving literature that have unique experiences and needs. Despite the advent of marriage equality in 2015, LGBTQ populations are still facing a multitude of challenges in the United States. While couples can now legally marry and share health benefits across the country, many other protections are administered on a state by state basis. For instance, discrimination policies related to housing, employment, education, conversion therapy, and public accommodations all depend heavily on geographic location. Subsequently, these policies foster a multitude of disparities for the LGBTQ community. One such disparity, and the one of interest to this study, is the mental health disparities experienced by LGBTQ caregivers in the United States.