New study shows dating is good for gay and lesbian teens’ mental health

A new study, published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, has found that romantic relationships are beneficial for the mental wellbeing of gay and lesbian teenagers. The study surveyed over 240 LGBT+ teenagers, asking about their love lives and how their relationships affected their mental health.

Romance was defined as “an ongoing relationship with a lover, boyfriend, girlfriend, or someone a person feels very close to.” The study found that 17 percent of gay and lesbian teens were less distressed when in a romantic relationship, this was even higher for POC.

However, bisexual teenagers were 19 percent more distressed when in a romantic relationship.

The lead author of the project, Brian Mustanski, explained that “the person (these participants) were dating was the first person they would go to when they had news to celebrate, but also the first person they would go to commiserate or seek support if something awful happened. They helped navigate issues with coming out or challenges they were having in the family about those relationships.”


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