Family of Origin, Not Chosen Family, Predicts Psychological Health in a LGBTQ+ Sample

When LGBTQ+ people come out they often experience turbulence in their families of origin that impacts their access to psychosocial resources. In general, families of origin are a source of support and resilience, but this may not always be the case for LGBTQ+ people. When LGBTQ+ people are unable to rely on their families of origin, researchers posit that chosen families may be created by LGBTQ+ people as a replacement for the support (e.g., advice, guidance, resources) they would otherwise receive from their families of origin. To test whether or not chosen families serve a similar role in mental health as families of origin, a study was conducted with LGBTQ+ identified people (N = 175) to investigate associations between perceived support from chosen family, perceived support from family of origin, resilience, and depression in LGBTQ+ adults. A hierarchical linear regression was run to determine whether increases in perceived chosen family predicted decreases in depression after controlling for resilience and family of origin support. In order to provide more insight into chosen family dynamics, a social network analysis was also conducted. Results indicated that family of origin support was the only significant predictor of depression levels in the final model. The social network analysis revealed that, within their chosen families, participants feel the most support from their friends. Findings suggest that the contribution of biological family support to mental health outcomes in LGBTQ+ people may outweigh support from chosen family. Additional findings and implications for mental health care are discussed. Public Significance StatementThis study provides a deeper understanding of the relational dynamics within LGBTQ+ family support systems. LGBTQ+ people reported experiencing more support from their chosen families than from their families of origin and they indicated that they felt closer to their chosen families. However, LGBTQ+ participants with higher levels of support from their families of origin were more likely to report lower depression levels. These results indicate that chosen family support is important, but that it may not play the same role in the lives of LGBTQ+ people as does family of origin.