Cultivating
Self-care,
Communicating
Support:
An Interactive Lesson on
Stress Recognition and
Reduction for LGBTQ+
Students
Presenter: Abby Rainer
Lesson Part 1: Stress
Defining the Term “Stress”

Definition depends on the type, but often referring to
distress . . .

Ex: Sexual identity distress: distress pertaining to one’s
gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity (Harcourt, 2013)

Ex: Gender identity distress:
distress pertaining to one’s nonheteronormative gender identity
(Hénault, 2006)

Ex: Psychological distress: “uncomfortable subjective
states” such as anxiety and depression) (Mirowsky &
Ross, 1986, p. 24).

Often comes in the form of “fight or flight” response
(approach versus avoid a stressful situation)
How “Fight or Flight” Works
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdJp
LvSTZMU
Other Kinds of Stress (Part 1)

Ex: Non-heteronormative identity distress (NHID)
(Rainer & Giles, forthcoming)

Involves feeling stressed about being nonheteronormative(i.e., LGBTQ, asexual, intersex,
and/or “other” in terms of sexual and/or gender
identity)

A term created via combining and
expanding on three distinct but
often related kinds of distress:
1) Sexual identity distress
2) Gender identity distress
3) Psychological distress

Also, other kinds of stress can be linked . . .
Other Kinds of Stress (Part 2)

Ex: Work stress: includes job-specific
distress which can adversely impact
academic (e.g., Jacobs & Winslow,
2004; O’Laughlin & Bischoff, 2005)
and non-academic life (e.g.,
Sorcinelli & Near, 1989; Ward & WolfWendel, 2004)

Ex: Relational stress: distress related
to having social relationships (e.g.,
romantic, familial, workplace, and
friend relationships)

Ex: School-related distress: distress
stemming from school-related
phenomena (e.g., going to classes,
studying, and taking exams)
Defining the Term “Stressors”

Any negative/positive event, idea, or
trigger which contributes to the start
of a stress response

We often emphasize negative items
when talking about stress (especially distress)

Ex: Odds of facing NHID vary due to experiences with two
categories of stressors (Goldberg & Allen, 2013):
1) Intrapersonal stressors:
~internalized homophobia (Harcourt, 2013)
~negative perceptions of campus climate
(Paludi & Denmark, 2010)
~concerns about others’ opinions and
treatment of non-heteronormative
persons (O’Keefe, 2006)
2) Interpersonal stressors (Ueno, 2005):
~victimization (e.g., verbal and physical
harassment, bullying, and vandalism)
~voluntary/involuntary social isolation
Four Ways to Manage Stress

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR):
Purposefully and sequentially tightening
and loosening muscle groups to relieve
physical and/or mental tension

Positive Visualization: Purposefully
envisioning positive outcomes of events
and/or one’s positive future actions to
relieve stress

Meditation: Being in the present
moment, avoiding self-judgment, letting
go of unwanted and/or unpleasant
thoughts (can also involve different poses)

Therapeutic Writing: Like writing a diary or
journal entry, but focused on getting your
thoughts, feelings, and memories of
traumatic and/or stressful events on paper
to start healing processes
Sources Cited (Part 1: Stress)
Anonymous [SUTTACLIPS]. (2011, March 27). Fight or Flight Response [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdJpLvSTZMU
Harcourt, J. (Ed.). (2013). Current Issues in Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Health. New York, NY: Routledge.
Hénault, I. (2005). Asperger's Syndrome and Sexuality: From Adolescence Through Adulthood. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley
Publishers.
Jacobs, J. A., & Winslow, S. E. (2004). Overworked faculty: Job stresses and family demands. The Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science, 596(1), 104-129.
Mirowsky, J., & Ross, C. E. (1986). Social pattern of distress. Annual Review of Sociology, 12, 23-45.
O'Keefe, C. A. (2007). Mentoring sexual orientation and gender identity minorities in a university setting. Los Angeles, CA:
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT).
O’Laughlin, E. M., & Bischoff, L. G. (2005). Balancing Parenthood and Academia Work/Family Stress as Influenced by Gender and
Tenure Status. Journal of Family Issues, 26(1), 79-106.
Paludi, M. A., & Denmark, F. (Eds.). (2010). Victims of Sexual Assault and Abuse: Resources and Responses for Individuals and
Families (Vol. 1). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Rainer, K. A., & Giles, S. (forthcoming). Can We Find Where the On-campus “Gaps” for “Gay, Lesbian, and Other” Are? A Pilot
Study Applying the Support Gap Hypothesis to Undergraduates Coping with Non-heteronormative Identity Distress.
Sorcinelli, M. D., & Near, J. P. (1989). Relations between work and life away from work among university faculty. Journal of
Higher Education, 60(1), 59-81.
Ueno, K. (2005). Sexual orientation and psychological distress in adolescence: Examining interpersonal stressors and social support
processes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 68(3), 258-277.
Ward, K., & Wolf-Wendel, L. (2004). Academic motherhood: Managing complex roles in research universities. The Review of
Higher Education, 27(2), 233-257.
Lesson Part 2: Social Support
Defining Social Support (Part 1)
Supportive communication:
defined as “verbal and nonverbal
behavior produced with the intention
of providing assistance to others
perceived as needing that aid” (e.g.,
see Burleson & MacGeorge, 2002,
p. 374).

Made up of factors, such as perspective, type, and source
of support (e.g., High & Steuber, 2014; Matsunaga, 2011;
Xu & Burleson, 2001).

Defining Social Support (Part 2)
 Two
perspectives focusing on today:
1) Desired support: support people would like to
receive under ideal circumstances (Xu &
Burleson, 2001).
2) Received support: support people feel they
truly experience during a specific time of
need (Collins, Dunkel-Schetter, Lobel, &
Scrimshaw, 1993; High & Steuber, 2014)
Defining Social Support (Part 3)

Five types focusing on today:
1) Emotional support: listening to people’s issues
and trying to make them feel better(High &
Steuber, 2014).
2) Informational support: providing advice and
details to help troubled people (High & Steuber;
Xu & Burleson, 2001).
3) Esteem support: bettering people’s feelings
about their feats, abilities, personhood, or
characteristics (Holmstrom & Burleson, 2011;
Holmstrom, 2012).
4) Network support: expanding on people’s social
connections (High & Steuber; Xu & Burleson).
5) Tangible support: providing
practical and material aid to troubled
people (High & Steuber; Xu & Burleson).
The Support Gap Hypothesis (SGH)


At first: only used to study support gaps happening in marital
relationships(Xu & Burleson, 2001).
~Support gaps here: typically involved females
receiving less support from their spouses than
they wanted and receiving less spousal support
than males
Dr. Brant Burleson
After recognizing that coping with some significant,
long-lasting marital stressors (e.g., infertility) requires
seeking support from many sources aside from spouses
(e.g., online Sources), however . . .
~High and Steuber (2014) expanded on the SGH
to study support quality and found other kinds of
support gaps.
Dr. Andy High

LGBTQ+ students may also experience various support
gaps on a daily basis (e.g., too much/little informational
support), and research is beginning to find more specific,
on-campus trends (Rainer & Giles, forthcoming).

Basically, try to give no more than what people ask for and pay
attention to their cues (e.g., further questions and smiles/frowns)
for clues about your support’s quality!
Dr. Keli Steuber
Dr. Steve Giles
Constructivism Theory

Delia’s (1977) Constructivism Theory:
one of the longest-standing, most
expanded, and most commonly
tested scientific theories in the
interpersonal communication literature
(Burleson & Rack, 2008).
Dr. Jesse Delia

Mainly involves looking at communication
competence, but also used to analyze the nature
and outcomes of supportive messages

Person centeredness: on component of theory
involving how person and problem-centered a
message is
Five Components of Person-Centered
Communication (Jones, 2004)
1) Self-centeredness vs. other-centeredness
2) Invalidating vs. validating support seeker’s issue(s)
3) Judging vs. empathizing with the support seeker
4) Disregarding vs. acknowledging support seeker’s issue(s)
5) Unconcerned vs. concerned about support seeker’s issue(s)
Sources Cited (Part 2: Social Support)
Burleson, B. R., & MacGeorge, E. L. (2002). Supportive Communication. Handbook of Interpersonal Communication, 3, 374–424.
Burleson, B. R., & Rack, J. J. (2008). “Constructivism Theory: Explaining Individual Differences in Communication Skill.” In L. A.
Baxter & D. O. Braithwaite (Eds.), Engaging Theories in Interpersonal Communication: Multiple Perspectives (Edition 1, pp.
51–63). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Collins, N. L., Dunkel-Schetter, C., Lobel, M., & Scrimshaw, S. C. (1993). Social support in pregnancy: psychosocial correlates of
birth outcomes and postpartum depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(6), 1243.
Delia, J. G. (1977). Constructivism and the study of human communication. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 63(1), 66–83.
High, A. C., & Steuber, K. R. (2014). An Examination of Support (In) Adequacy: Types, Sources, and Consequences of Social
Support among Infertile Women. Communication Monographs, 81(2), 157–178.
Holmstrom, A. J. (2012). What Helps – and What Doesn't – When Self-Esteem is Threatened?: Retrospective Reports of Esteem
Support. Communication Studies, 63(1), 77–98.
Holmstrom, A. J., & Burleson, B. R. (2011). An initial test of a cognitive-emotional theory of esteem support messages.
Communication Research, 38, 326–355.
Jones, S. M. (2004). Putting the person into person-centered and immediate emotional support emotional change and perceived
helper competence as outcomes of comforting in helping situations. Communication Research, 31(3), 338–360.
Matsunaga, M. (2011). Underlying circuits of social support for bullied victims: An appraisal-based perspective on supportive
communication and postbullying adjustment. Human Communication Research, 37, 174–206.
Rainer, K. A., & Giles, S. (forthcoming). Can We Find Where the On-campus “Gaps” for “Gay, Lesbian, and Other” Are? A Pilot
Study Applying the Support Gap Hypothesis to Undergraduates Coping with Non-heteronormative Identity Distress.
Xu, Y., & Burleson, B. R. (2001). Effects of sex, culture, and support type on perceptions of spousal social support: An assessment
of the “support gap” hypothesis in early marriage. Human Communication Research, 27(4), 535–566.