Interpersonal Trauma, Marginalization, and Low-Resource Settings: Understanding Sexual and Gender Minority People’s Help-Seeking and Service Utilization Experiences

23/07/2026

AI Summary

SGM people in low-resource New York State areas face high interpersonal trauma yet low treatment uptake; 38.2% sought care and many doubt finding SGM-affirmative providers.
Anticipated stigma, family responses, and provider validation shape disclosure, trust, and engagement in care for SGM survivors.
Geographic isolation and structural inequities undermine safety, anonymity, and access, while policy barriers limit supportive service options.

TL;DR (AI Generated)

This mixed-methods study explored help-seeking and care utilization among 55 SGM people who experienced sexual assault, intimate partner violence, or childhood maltreatment and lived in low-resource areas across New York State (Mage=30.47; SD=9.83; 70.9% cisgender women; 27.3% people of color; 29.1% annual income ≤$9,999).

Qualitative data revealed five interrelated themes describing social and structural contexts that shaped help-seeking and care engagement, including (1) anticipated stigma and self-protective avoidance as barriers to help-seeking; (2) family and relational responses shape safety, disclosure, and avoidance; (3) provider validation versus invalidation shapes trust and engagement in care; (4) geographic isolation undermines safety, anonymity, and care access; and, (5) structural inequities and policy barriers reinforce mistrust and limit options.

The current study's findings offer a novel socioecological perspective on interpersonal trauma - related help-seeking among SGM people in low-resource settings, demonstrating how stigma, trust, provider interactions, geographic isolation, and structural inequities shape care-seeking pathways.

Basic summary

J Child Sex Abus. 2026 Jul 22:1-28. doi: 10.1080/10538712.2026.2706497. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people disproportionately experience interpersonal trauma and face significant barriers to affirmative support. This mixed-methods study explored help-seeking and care utilization among 55 SGM people who experienced sexual assault, intimate partner violence, or childhood maltreatment and lived in low-resource areas across New York State (M_age=30.47; SD=9.83; 70.9% cisgender women; 27.3% people of color; 29.1% annual income ≤$9,999). Participants completed an online needs assessment survey with quantitative and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics described sample characteristics, help-seeking, and care utilization experiences. Conventional content analysis was employed to examine contexts surrounding experiences seeking support and utilizing services. In the past year, 38.2% sought interpersonal trauma-related mental health treatment; nearly a third lacked confidence in finding SGM-affirmative providers and experienced poor provider treatment and 18.2% experienced SGM conversion efforts in their lifetime. Qualitative data revealed five interrelated themes describing social and structural contexts that shaped help-seeking and care engagement, including (1) anticipated stigma and self-protective avoidance as barriers to help-seeking; (2) family and relational responses shape safety, disclosure, and avoidance; (3) provider validation versus invalidation shapes trust and engagement in care; (4) geographic isolation undermines safety, anonymity, and care access; and, (5) structural inequities and policy barriers reinforce mistrust and limit options. The current study’s findings offer a novel socioecological perspective on interpersonal trauma – related help-seeking among SGM people in low-resource settings, demonstrating how stigma, trust, provider interactions, geographic isolation, and structural inequities shape care-seeking pathways.

PMID:42487495 | DOI:10.1080/10538712.2026.2706497

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