Gallagher, Matthew W.2020-06-032020-06-03May 20202020-05May 2020https://hdl.handle.net/10657/6653Sexual minorities are often impacted by sources of stress not experienced by individuals in a majority group. Thus, sexual minorities are likely to experience higher levels of depressive symptoms than their heterosexual counterparts. Mastery and self-esteem are two psychological resources related to one’s self-perception and are associated with greater well-being and lower levels of psychopathology. The current study used data from the Stress, Identity, and Mental Health Study to explore 1) differences in levels of mastery, self-esteem, psychological and social well-being, and depression in homosexual, bisexual, queer, other non-heterosexual and heterosexual individuals, 2) the magnitude of the separate effects of mastery and self-esteem on psychological well-being, social well-being, and depression in a sexual minority sample, and 3) the magnitude of the unique effects of mastery and self-esteem on psychological well-being, social well-being, and depression when analyzed simultaneously in a sexual minority sample. Levels of depression and self-esteem did not differ among sexual orientation groups (confidence intervals included zero). Levels of social well-being (d = 0.50) and mastery (d=0.31) were higher in heterosexual individuals compared to bisexual individuals. Self-esteem and mastery predicted well-being and depression both when examined separately and together in the same model, but self-esteem was consistently a stronger predictor of outcomes. Self-esteem appears to be more useful in protecting against mental illness and maintaining well-being in sexual minority individuals.application/pdfengThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).well-beingdepressionsexual orientation2020-06-03Thesisborn digital