LGBTQ+/Rainbow mental health
LGBTQ+/Rainbow folks experience higher rates of mental health concerns than their straight, cisgender peers.
Research has explained this disparity using minority stress theory, which states that unique, identity-specific stressors (like discrimination) combine with general life stress to confer heightened risk for poor mental health outcomes.
My research
I use a minority stress lens to examine how emotional processes during these instances of unique stress (e.g., coming out) may be related to mental health outcomes, particularly among LGBTQ youth. More recently, I have also become interested in examining the role of parenting in LGBTQ youth’s mental health outcomes, and whether brief interventions with parents could reduce LGBTQ youth stress and foster resilience.
Relevant publications
Seager van Dyk, I., & Spivey-Rita, L. (in press). Improving mental health care for sexual and gender minority youth and their families: Introduction to the special section. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
Layland, E K., Wei, A. X., Maurer, N.M., & Seager van Dyk, I. (in press). It takes more than a village: Involvement in positive LGBTQIA+ socialization from origin family, chosen family, community, and parasocial relationships. LGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Link
Seager van Dyk, I., Rutherford, C.G., Pachankis, J.E., Bränström, R. & Hatzenbuehler, M.L. (2026). Differences in emotion regulation components underlie the sexual orientation disparity in depressive symptoms: a prospective, population-based study of young adults. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 61, 235-248. Link
Layland, E.K., Barton, L., Curtiss, S.L., Barnes, T.N., Wei, A.X., & Seager van Dyk, I. (2026). Associations between LGBTQIA+ personal and social identity dimensions and well-being in an international sample of Autistic adolescents and adults. Autism in Adulthood, online first, 1-16. Link
Murchison, G.R., Seager van Dyk, I., Wolfe, H.L., & Lipson, S.K. (2026). Transgender/nonbinary college and university students’ perceptions and use of mental health services: comparisons to cisgender peers in a large U.S. sample. Journal of American College Health, 74(2), 313-324. Link
Pinciotti, C.M., Cusack, C., Rodriguez-Seijas, C., Lorenzo-Luaces, L., Seager van Dyk, I., & Galupo, M.P. (2025). Potential harms in the psychological treatment of sexual and gender minority youth. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 53, 715-727. Link
Shen, J., Seager van Dyk, I., & Cohen, J.M. (2025). Doing affirmative cognitive behavioral therapy with LGBTQ+ youth and their families. In N.A. Livingston, B.A. Feinstein, & M.P. Galupo (Eds). Addressing minority stress and enhancing resilience in therapy with diverse LGBTQ+ clients (pp.141-166). Springer.
Seager van Dyk, I., Sena, R., McCord, C., Kodish, T., & DeAntonio, M. (2024). Affirming LGBTQIA+ youth in inpatient psychiatric settings. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 63(3), 296-300. Link
Seager van Dyk, I., Clark, K. A., Dougherty, L. R., & Pachankis, J. E. (2024). Parent responses to their sexual and gender minority children: Implications for parent-focused supportive interventions. Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity, 11(1), 1-16. Link
Shen, J., Seager van Dyk, I., & Cohen, J.M. (2024). Talking with youth about sexual orientation and gender identity. Pediatrics in Review, 45(12), 721-725. Link
Christensen, K. A., Seager van Dyk, I., & Klaver, E. (2024). Elevated insomnia symptom severity in university students: The role of sexual orientation and internalizing symptoms. Journal of American College Health, 72(9), 3088-3094. Link
Seager van Dyk, I., Hahn, H., Scott, L. E., Aldao, A., & Vine, V. (2023). Manipulating minority stress: Validation of a novel film-based minority stress induction with lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults. Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity, 10(1), 128-139. Link
Seager van Dyk, I. (2023). The “A” is not for ally: The continued pathologization of asexual people in modern mental health practice. The Behavior Therapist, 46(8), 337-342.
Pachankis, J.E., Soulliard, Z.A., Morris, F., & Seager van Dyk, I. (2023). A model for adapting evidence-based interventions to be LGBQ-affirming: Putting minority stress principles and case conceptualization into clinical research and practice. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 30(1), 1-17. Link
Pachankis, J.E., Soulliard, Z.A., Layland, E.K., Behari, K., Seager van Dyk, I., Eisenstadt, B.E., Chiaramonte, D., Ljótsson, B., Särnholm, J., & Bjureberg, J. (2023). Guided internet cognitive-behavioral therapy for sexual minority youth’s mental health: A randomized controlled trial of a minority stress treatment approach. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 169, 104403. Link
Schiltz, H. K., McVey, A. J., Seager van Dyk, I., Adler, E. J., & Van Hecke, A. V. (2023). Brief report: Links between nonconformity to gender norms, autistic features, and internalizing symptoms in a non-clinical college sample. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53, 1717-1725. Link
McGehan, S., Tairi, T., & Seager van Dyk, I. (2022). Beyond the binary: Controversies and ethical considerations in current intervention models for transgender and gender minority children and young people. Psychology Aotearoa.
Seager van Dyk, I., Aldao, A., & Pachankis, J. E. (2022). Coming out under fire: The role of minority stress and emotion regulation in sexual orientation disclosure. PLOS ONE, 17(5), e0267810. Link
Pachankis, J. E., Soulliard, Z. A., Seager van Dyk, I., Layland, E., Clark, K. A., Levine, D. S. & Jackson, S. D. (2022). Training in LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy: A randomized controlled trial across LGBTQ community centers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 90(7), 582-599. Link
Seager van Dyk, I., Shao, J., Smiley, P., Sohn, L., Olson, K., & Borelli, J. (2021). Responding to children’s diverse gender expression: Validation of a parent-report measure of gender-related conditional regard. Journal of GLBT Family Studies. Link
Zullo, L., Seager van Dyk, I., Ollen, E. W., & Miranda, J. (2021). Treatment recommendations and barriers to care for suicidal LGBTQ youth: A quality improvement study. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Link
Gillikin, L. M., Manasse, S. M., & Seager van Dyk, I. (2021). An examination of emotion regulation as a mechanism underlying eating disorder pathology in lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Eating Behaviors, 41, 101508. Link
Hahn, H., Seager van Dyk, I., & Ahn, W-Y. (2020). Attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women moderate heterosexual adults’ subjective stress response to witnessing homonegativity. Frontiers in Psychology: Personality and Social Psychology,10, 2948. Link
Rogers, A.H., Seager, I., Haines, N., Hahn, H., Aldao, A., & Ahn, W-Y. (2017). The indirect effect of emotion regulation on minority stress and problematic substance use in lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Frontiers in Psychology: Gender, Sex and Sexuality Studies, 8, 1881. Link
Seager, I., & Aldao, A. (2016). Applying basic affective science to clinical practice: a focus on social contexts and sexual minority clients. The Clinical Psychologist, 69(3), 7-15. Link
Selected presentations
See poster images below
Pretty and Witty and Gay: Positive Affect Regulation Mediates the Relationship Between Queer Identity Factors and Psychological Distress. ABCT, 2020.
Eating Pathology in Sexual Minority Populations: The Indirect Effect of Emotion Regulation Deficits. ABCT, 2020.
Bouncing Back from Discrimination: Affective Factors Promoting Resilience in Sexual Minorities. ICPS - Paris, 2019
The Perils of Keeping it in the Family: Emotional Reactivity and Discrimination in Bisexual Adults. SAS, 2018
Friend or Foe? The Role of the Media in Sexual Orientation Self-Disclosure. APA, 2017
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms are Linked With Experiences of Shame During a Sexuality-Affirming Film Clip Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals. ABCT, 2015
