Sexual minorities who have experienced trauma related to their identity may engage in compulsions in an attempt to avoid threats of harm, despite the internal stress caused by compulsions. A link between trauma exposure and the development of OCD symptoms has been found, and compulsions may serve as a coping mechanism that inhibits affective processing and promotes avoidance of anxiety-provoking stimuli. Avoidance may serve to reduce distress and to give the illusion that future threats may be prevented- for example, someone who has experienced traumatic victimization may engage in compulsive checking of locks to seemingly prevent it happening again.