Micah Lattanner
It is well-documented that exposure to stigma is robustly associated with negative health outcomes and is proposed as a fundamental cause of mental health disparities between stigmatized (e.g., LGBTQ+) and non-stigmatized populations. Extending this body of work, researchers have begun to propose mechanistic pathways linking stigma and mental health. For example, one way that stigma-related stress affects mental health is by disrupting interpersonal relationships, leading to adverse interpersonal outcomes (e.g., loneliness). Despite growing evidence for this pathway, a limited body of research has: 1) conceptualized and tested the multitude of biopsychosocial mechanisms through which stigma causes adverse interpersonal outcomes; and 2) incorporated the effects of “up-stream” macro-social contextual influences (e.g., structural stigma—“societal-level conditions, cultural norms, and institutional policies that constrain the opportunities, resources, and well-being of the stigmatized”). As a result, the field lacks a comprehensive understanding of the various ways in which stigma—operating across multiple levels of influence (i.e., structural, interpersonal, and individual)—indirectly interferes with interpersonal relationships in ways that increase risk for poor mental health. The central objective of Micah’s research program is to address this gap in the literature by testing direct and mediating pathways linking stigma operating at multiple levels to relationally-oriented mechanisms, adverse interpersonal outcomes, and mental health.
Micah received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Duke University. As a postdoctoral fellow, he completed the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health T32 Psychiatric Epidemiology Training Program. He subsequently continued his postdoctoral training within the Department of Psychology at Harvard University.
- PHSC 50 Introduction to Biostatistics for Public Health
- PHSC 150 Evidence-Based Public Health
- PHSC 178 Stigma and Health
Lattanner, M. R., McKetta, S., Pachankis, J. E., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2024). State of the science of structural stigma and LGBTQ+ health: Meta-analytic evidence, research gaps, and future directions. Annual Review of Public Health, 46. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-013336
Hatzenbuehler, M. L., Lattanner, M. R., McKetta, S., & Pachankis, J. E. (2024). Structural stigma and LGBTQ+ health: a narrative review of quantitative studies. The Lancet Public Health, 9, e109-e127. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00312-2
Lattanner, M.R. & Hatzenbuehler, M.L. (2023). Thwarted belonging needs: A mechanism prospectively linking multiple levels of stigma and interpersonal outcomes among sexual minorities. Journal of Social Issues, 79, 410-445. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12564
Lattanner, M.R., Pachankis, J.E., & Hatzenbuehler, M.L. (2022). Mechanisms linking minority stress and depressive symptoms in a longitudinal, population-based study of gay and bisexual men: A test and extension of the psychological mediation framework. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 90, 638-646. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000749
Lattanner, M.R., Ford, J., Bo, N., Tu, W., Pachankis, J.E., Dodge, B., & Hatzenbuehler, M.L. (2021). A contextual approach to the psychological study of identity concealment: Examining direct, interactive, and indirect effects of structural stigma on concealment motivation across proximal and distal levels. Psychological Science, 32, 1684-1696. doi: 10.1177/09567976211018624