Do coping styles moderate or mediate the relationship between internalized heterosexism and sexual minority women's psychological distress?

The purpose of this study was to test tenets of both minority stress and lesbian feminist/sexual identity development theories by examining the potential moderating and mediating roles of individual coping styles (i.e., problem-solving and avoidant coping) in the relationship between internalized heterosexism and lesbian and bisexual (sexual minority) women's psychological distress. Participants included 323 sexual minority women who completed an Internet survey. Results revealed that avoidant coping partially mediated the relationship between internalized heterosexism and psychological distress. No support was found for the mediating role of problem-solving coping or for the moderating roles of problem-solving and avoidant coping in the link between internalized heterosexism and psychological distress. Feminist strategies that may be useful for clinicians working with clients to reduce internalized heterosexism are provided.