much higher among racial and sexual minorities than among majority individuals. For example, LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely to recall experiencing prejudice throughout their lives compared to heterosexuals, and LGBTQ+ youth report significantly higher rates of prejudice and discrimination compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers. In one carefully controlled study, researchers compared rates of victimization among LGBTQ+ youth and their heterosexual siblings, and they found significantly higher rates of abuse among the LGBTQ+ individuals. Comparing rates of perceived discrimination among African American and White individuals, researchers have found large differences in reports of discrimination: 30.9% of Whites reported experiencing "major discrimination" throughout their lives compared to 48.9% of African Americans. Similarly, 3.4% of Whites reported experiencing discrimination "often" in their lives, compared to 24.8% of African Americans. Thus, collectively, research suggests that minority individuals face frequent exposure to distal stressors compared to their majority group counterparts. Minority status and proximal stressors Proximal stressors are internal processes that are presumed to occur following exposure to distal stressors. Examples of proximal stressors include fear of rejection, rumination (psychology) on previous experiences with prejudice, and distaste for one's own minority group following a prejudice event. Most research on this topic focuses on either sexual minorities or African Americans, and it is unclear whether the proximal stress processes are conceptually similar between these two groups. Thus, it is necessary to review proximal stress processes separately for sexual minority and African American populations. Proximal stressors among sexual minorities A growing body of research indicates that exposure to distal stressors leads to proximal stressors in sexual minority populations. While sexual minority stress and gender minority stress both use Meyer's Minority Stress Model as a framework, and share some characteristics with gender minority stress, some researchers have suggested that sexual minority stress is distinct from the minority stress experienced by transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary-gender individuals. For example, LGBTQ+ youth and adults who have experienced prejudice about their sexual orientation sometimes choose to conceal their sexual identity from others. Concealing such personal information causes significant psychological distress, including intrusive thoughts about the secret, shame and guilt, anxiety, and isolation from other members of the minority group. Internalized homophobia is another proximal stressor prevalent among LGBT individuals. It refers to the internalization of negative social views about homosexuality, which leads to self-hatred and poor self-regard. As predicted by minority stress theory, internalized homophobia is associated with