Community (dis)connectedness and identity among LGBTQIA+ people during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative cross-sectional and longitudinal trajectory study

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated shelter-in-place ordinances rapidly limited access to in-person social interactions, raising concerns of diminishing social support and community cohesion while psychological stressors increased. For LGBTQIA+ people, connectedness to the LGBTQIA+ community buffers against the harmful effects of stressors and decreases risks for poor psychological and behavioural health outcomes. The current study uses qualitative cross-sectional (between-person) and trajectory (within-person) analysis methods to characterise how LGBTQIA+ people’s perceptions of community connectedness shifted during the first year of the pandemic. A convenience sample of LGBTQIA+ people in the U.S. completed an initial online survey in September 2020 (n = 298 and a follow-up survey in September 2021; n = 129). The survey included questions about changes in connectedness to the LGBTQIA+ community since the pandemic’s beginning. Eight cross-cutting themes (related to identity shifts/exploration, disconnection, online connections, and increased awareness of social justice issues) were identified and then organised within each level of the LGBTQIA+ Social-Ecological Model (i.e. the individual-, couple-, interpersonal-, organisational-, community-, and chronosystem- level). Given the importance of social support for LGBTQIA+ wellbeing, more longitudinal research is needed to determine whether these changes persist after the resolution of the acute phase of the pandemic.