WVXU: Young LGBTQ women have alarming rates of depression and anxiety
UC study looks to identify stressors and develop ways to improve mental health of sexual minority
University of Cincinnati clinical psychologist and researcher Sarah Whitton, PhD, and graduate student Emily Devlin were featured guests on WVXU’s Cincinnati Edition.
The reserach academics joined host Lucy May to discuss a new study of the FAB 400, a cohort of sexual minority women.
The study, led by Whitton and supported by a federal grant, looks to identify mental health risks and protective factors for sexual minority women and is a continuation of a prior study with this same cohort. That study, when the cohort was younger, determined the group had higher levels of anxiety and depression than sexual minority men.
“Most of the research funding that goes toward sexual minority men,” Whitton said in the segment.
The study also seeks to understand the pathways through which societal stigma (e.g., prejudice, discrimination) can lead to mental health issues in SMW, such as family rejection, social isolation and internalization of negative views. Devlin, who is on Whitton’s research team, expounded on how these life experiences can lead to mental health issues.
The study will also analyze biological data from the participants, through blood draws, to measure chronic inflammation and its effects on mental health.
Featured image at top: iStockphoto/danhill
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
The future, decoded. UC scholars reveal what’s next
May 20, 2026
The University of Cincinnati’s NEXT Innovation Scholars presented Gen Z-fueled insights on possible future trends at the Futures Forum 2026. Here’s what they see ahead.
6 ways starting a GLP-1 medication could affect your emotions
May 20, 2026
When patients first start taking a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medication, they probably expect to feel full. But they might not anticipate how it can influence their emotions. The medications act on the stomach and the brain, said Malti Vij, MD, a University of Cincinnati adjunct associate professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
UC researchers recruit older adults for extreme heat health study
May 20, 2026
The University of Cincinnati’s Center for Collaboration on Climate & Community for Health (C4H) is recruiting older adults to participate in a study tracking their health during periods of extreme summer heat.