中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: Research has shown a connection between experiences of social exclusion and gay men’s mental health in the West. However, this connection has not been examined in Taiwan. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between being socially excluded and mental health among gay men. The goal is to help mental health practitioners to provide more appropriate services for gay men. Methods: Participants were recruited via the Internet to answer an online survey in July, 2014. Participants completed the Social Exclusion Questionnaire (which includes the Treated Unfriendly by Others Scale and the Hunger by Poverty Scale), the Mental Health Questionnaire (which includes the BSRS-5 Scale, the Self-Hurt and Suicide Scale, the Self-Rated Mental Health Scale, and the Mental Component Summary of 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey), and they provided their sociodemographic information. Results: A total of 270 gay men responded to the survey. Most of them were young (mean age = 27.9), educated, and lived with their parents in the northern part of Taiwan. Over two-thirds of them (193, 71.5%) were treated in an unfriendly way by others because of their gay identity, and 175 (64.8%) of them were hungry due to poverty. Although most of them had experienced social exclusion, their mental health was good. Individuals with particular issues (e.g., disability) had scores on the Social Exclusion [t_((268))=3.57, p＜.001] and the Mental Health questionnaires [t(268)=-5.59, p＜.001] that were statistically different from those without those issues. Overall, The analysis identified a significant negative relationship between the experience of social exclusion and mental health among gay men in Taiwan [β=-.38, p＜.001]. Conclusions: The experience of social exclusion and poverty may be important for understanding the mental health of gay men in Taiwan. However, though the experiences of being treated unfriendly by others among gay men has been considered, gay men’s poverty and the dynamic between poverty and mental health among gay men have not been examined carefully in Taiwan. Additionally, the intersectionality of oppression experienced by gay men with different background needed to be emphasized. Mental health practitioners supporting gay men should provide services to address issues stemming from social exclusion and poverty.