Abstract: Previous studies indicate that perceived social support is linked to better well-being (Kalaitzaki et al., 2020; Labrague et al., 2021). Indeed, during the pandemic, those with greater social support have been less negatively impacted by COVID-19 (Mai et al., 2021). However, emerging adults who identify as members of minority groups (e.g., LGBTQ+) may have been cut off from critical sources of support during the pandemic (Fish et al., 2020; Gato et al., 2020). Generally, focus has been on the negative rather than positive experiences and the role of intersectionality has been overlooked. The present study examined whether the association between perceived social support and positive experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic differs depending on one’s gender-sexuality status. Participants were 608 university students (287 heterosexual females, 179 heterosexual males, 111 LGBTQ+ females, and 31 LGBTQ+ males), who completed an online survey twice during the pandemic (Time 1: May-June and Time 2: October-November). Multigroup regression analysis revealed that, at Time 1, family support predicted more positive experiences for both groups of women (heterosexual and LGBTQ+), and friend support predicted more positive experiences for both heterosexual groups (males and females). When the longitudinal association was examined, friend support at Time 1 predicted more positive experiences at Time 2 for heterosexual men only. Future studies should recruit larger samples of LGTBQ+ emerging adults and assess the role of other sociodemographic factors (e.g., race-ethnicity) in the relationship between social support and positive experiences during COVID-19.
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