A new study has found a link between prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community and economic instability.

The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, examined the well-being of LGBTQ+ people and included 82,324 participants from 153 countries. Researchers from CNRS and UNAIDS used three sociological dimensions to explore and analyse the link between homophobia and socioeconomic status – participants’ family, community and national attitudes.

Through this analysis, the study found that there is a correlation between homophobia and transphobia and unfavourable socio-economic status. As Phys.Org summarises, “the more economically precarious a person is, the greater the rejection they experience and vice versa”. Countries with the greatest economic inequality had an accentuated link between homophobia and economic precarity. Meanwhile, participants who were economically secure were less likely to be affected by national homophobia or transphobia.

“The weight of a country’s homophobic climate on well-being was nearly halved for economically secure participants compared with those economically deprived,” the study’s summary reads.

Among the three forms of rejection analysed in the study, family rejection was shown to be the most damaging to the well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals.

As the study’s summary states, participants from countries in the Middle East and North Africa reported the lowest subjective well-being, followed by participants in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The study also examined participants’ awareness of HIV, and found that individuals who reported low awareness of the virus also experienced the lowest well-being score.

From their findings, the study’s authors state that public health measures should “address homophobic stigma and discrimination, focusing on the lowest socioeconomic strata”.

This is not the first time a study has found a correlation between economic precarity and LGBTQ+ prejudice. A 2016 study published in World Development examined data from 132 countries across a 45-year period and found that economic development and LGBTQ+ inclusion are “mutually reinforcing”.