Mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people in the Netherlands with an Islamic background

Assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Social Science Gabriël van Beusekom is researching the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people with an Islamic background in the Netherlands. Which factors increase the risk of mental health issues, and which factors can offer protection?

To find out, Gabriël van Beusekom is conducting a questionnaire study together with student assistant Zehdi Qouassem named ‘Mental Health and Well-being of LGBTQ+ Adults with an Islamic Background in the Netherlands: Intersectional Minority Stress and Social Support’.

Why are you specifically conducting research among this group?

Gabriel: “Research shows that, on average, LGBTQ+ people experience mental health issues more frequently than heterosexual and cisgender people. At the same time, some groups seem to be particularly vulnerable. For example, a person may be faced with bias because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. People who also have an Islamic background and are often part of an ethnic minority, may be faced with multiple forms of rejection or exclusion. Within the LGBTQ+ community, too, experiences vary greatly. We would like to know which factors determine whether someone is or is not doing well.”

We ask about different forms of stress and experiences that may affect someone’s mental health.

What does the study look like?

“We are currently collecting data using an online questionnaire. We ask about different forms of stress and experiences that may affect someone’s mental health, such as rejection because of sexual orientation or gender identity. We look at different contexts.

Sample questions include: Are you rejected within your own family because of your sexual orientation or gender identity? Do you experience exclusion within the LGBTQ+ community because of your cultural or religious background? Do you find that people within that community find you attractive mainly because of your ethnic background? We are also investigating whether religion can be a significant factor. It is often thought that religion makes it more difficult for this group, but that does not have to be the case at all.”

Friends who are like you

Gabriël van Beusekom is also investigating the role of friendships. “We are investigating whether it helps LGBTQ+ people to have friends with whom they share multiple aspects of their background and identity, like friends who are also queer and have a similar religious, cultural or migration background. We would like to know if such friendships have a different effect on mental health than friendships in which only one part of a person’s identity is shared.”

Social support and resilience

Gabriel: “In addition to studying various forms of minority stress, we are also investigating which factors can be protective. Examples include social support from family, friends or the LGBTQ+ community, feelings of connectedness and the role that religion can play for some people. This will give us a better understanding of which factors contribute to better mental health.”

It is often thought that religion makes it more difficult for this group, but that does not have to be the case at all.

Nearly 300 participants

The major challenge seemed to be finding enough participants, as this group generally keeps a low profile. Nevertheless, Gabriël van Beusekom has already collected almost 250 completed questionnaires and expects to reach around 300 participants. This is a good number for a study of a target group that is relatively hard to reach. How has he managed this? Gabriel: “We mainly use snowball sampling. We ask people from the target group to share the call within their own network. In addition, we are distributing the questionnaire through social media, civil-society organisations and QR codes in the waiting rooms of municipal public health services (GGDs). Well-known Dutch people, including actor and writer Abbie Chalgoum, have also shared our call. Lastly, our team plays an active role in recruitment. Student assistants who are familiar with the target group and are active in relevant networks draw attention to the questionnaire and spread the word at meetings of groups such as Queer Oriental.”

Voluntary commitment, great importance to society

The data collection phase will run until October. After that, there will be a qualitative phase until February during which participants in the questionnaire study can register for an interview. “The study is taking a lot of time and will continue for another few months. No major external funding is available for this project. Nevertheless, we felt it was important to set it up, as little is known about the mental health of LGBTQ+ people with an Islamic background. Thanks to the efforts of a small team, student assistants and other stakeholders, we are able to conduct this study in spite of the odds.”

Impact

Gabriël van Beusekom expects the study to lead to a number of articles in scientific journals. “In addition, we would like to share the study outcomes with communities and organisations of LGBTQ+ people with an Islamic background. We are also considering setting up a sounding board to help us identify our blind spots and implicit assumptions.”