LGBTQ psychology

This article addresses factors presented in the literature related to the unique experiences of queer adolescent dating and sexuality across individual, familial, and school–community domains. The article also provides an important synthesis and operationalization of queer identity, queer adolescent dating and sexuality, access to affirmative spaces, queer-inclusive education, and legal implications. The authors build upon the limited counseling literature addressing queer adolescent dating and sexuality by providing culturally responsive and proac- tive implications for counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors. A case study and discus- sion is used to highlight potential actionable suggestions for counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors.

Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) populations have a high prevalence of suicide behaviors. Aim: To review the literature on suicide among LGBT populations. Material and Methods: A systematic review of the scientific literature published between 2004 and 2014 on suicidality among LGBT people was conducted. Forty-five articles were selected for a thematic analysis. Results: The research on suicide among LGBT people has increased during the last decade. The vast majority of studies have been conducted in the U.S. and other English speaking countries. At the same time, in a great part, these studies have been published in journals specializing in mental health and public health of sexual minorities. In general, they provide a significant foundation on protective and risk factors for suicide as well as their epidemiology. Conclusions: The focus of research on suicide among LGBT populations is mainly exploratory. More attention on these at-risk groups is required from the suicide research community in order to provide useful evidence for prevention and development of focalized and effective interventions. (Rev Med Chile 2016; 144: 723-733)

Mental health disparities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people due to stigma and minority stress have received even less attention. The mental health of LGBTIQ people in Thailand is threatened by intersectional stigma and minority stress caused by actual and anticipated discrimination, ostracism, and violence. This chapter first discusses the cultural and historical context of Thailand and the emergence of its numerous LGBTIQ identities. Next, it describes the Thai context of mental health and LGBTIQ issues, including the stigma associated with each of these. The chapter explores conceptualizations of sexual orientation and gender identity, mental health, and cultural values that differ from those of many contexts in the Global North. Next, it describes common mental health problems and their multiple antecedents among LGBTIQ individuals in the Thai context. Finally, the chapter presents authors perspectives on implications for improving LGBTIQ mental health in Thailand.

Conversion or reparative therapy entails an intensive therapy process intended to help clients change their sexual orientation from being gay, lesbian, or bisexual to being heterosexual.  The majority of approaches to conversion therapy are religiously based and religion serves as a primary motivator for individuals to try to change their sexual orientation. Most of the major mental health organizations, including the American Psychological Association, have issued statements of concern about conversion therapy, including that there is a lack of supporting evidence for the efficacy of these therapies and that they contribute to prejudice against gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals. Others point to risks associated with conversion therapy. Despite this, considerable professional debate continues about the efficacy and potential harm of conversion therapy. The current study utilizes a phenomenological methodology to explore the experience of conversion therapy by individuals who have chosen to attempt it. The participants include people who perceived that conversion therapy was successful as well as individuals who perceived the therapy to be unsuccessful. Consideration is given to 1) their motivations for entering conversion therapy, 2) factors influencing why individuals considered therapy successful or unsuccessful, 3) how conversion therapy impacted their relationships and social support, and 4) the impact upon the individual’s psychological and spiritual health.

Hoffman, L., Lincoln, J., & Johnson, C. (2011, August). A phenomenological investigation of conversion therapy. In L. Hoffman & J. Lincoln (Chairs), The impact of religion and religious issues on lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Symposium presented at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.

In this article, we report experiences that bisexual and other nonmonosexual people perceive as negative or threatening toward their sexual identity that may relate to mental health. A 28-
day, daily diary study investigated whether participants encountered negative experiences related to their sexual identity. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, participants’ experiences were organized according to a social ecological model. Experiences were reported at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social-structural levels, though most negative sexual identity experiences occurred at the interpersonal level. Implications for negative health outcomes research and the inclusion of bisexual specific stressors in minority stress research are discussed.

Although prior research has demonstrated that faith communities, religiosity, and/or religious affiliation can be risk factors for depression, suicide, and substance abuse among LGBTQ+ people, there is also promising evidence of the protective functions of faith communities for LGBTQ+ people. This study's purpose was to explore what draws LGBTQ+ people to stay in faith communities. The data were collected from a sampling pool recruited at a national conference formerly called the Gay Christian Network (GCN) conference. Our sample of 30 individuals were purposively selected in order to represent diverse views from a variety of demographic domains, many of which are underrepresented in the extant empirical literature on this topic. Qualitative data were analyzed using a procedure by Maietta and colleagues called Sort and Sift, Think and Shift. The analysis resulted in six themes: profound loss vs healing authenticity, fear of rejection vs joy of inclusion, what works for now vs heavenly bliss, isolation vs community, cultural vs not cultural, and mainstream vs marginalized. The results of the study have implications for clinical practice with LGBTQ+ individuals and offer a more nuanced understanding of both the risk and protective functions of faith communities in the lives of LGBTQ+ people.

Since the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973, psychology has transformed the way it approaches sexual orientation and gender identity issues in scientific research and clinical practice. The paradigmatic shift from psychopathology to identity has corresponded with the introduction of "LGBT affirmative therapy," which suggests that therapists should affirm clients' sexual orientations rather than reinforce sexual minorities' experiences of stigma and marginalization. This qualitative study used a subset of psychotherapy training videos about LGBT issues to explore the form of content of LGBT affirmative therapy in the context of increased attention to identity and multiculturalism in applied psychology. The videos suggest that multiculturally competent therapists should understand sexuality and gender issues in terms of what psychologists call "multiple" or "intersecting" identities, namely race and ethnicity. While the multicultural turn in psychotherapy may signal a transformation in mental health service provision, our analysis questions whether these videos may unintentionally reflect a neoliberal logic of inclusion that obscures the structural dimensions of social inequality. We suggest that the uptake of intersectionality-like identitarian discourse in psychotherapy in particular offers opportunities for challenging and reinforcing neoliberalism.

Theory and research agree that connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is an important construct to account for in understanding issues related to health and well-being among gay and bisexual men. However, the measurement of this construct among lesbian and bisexual women or racial and ethnic minority individuals has not yet been adequately investigated. This study examined the reliability and validity of an existing measure of connectedness to the LGBT Community among a diverse group of sexual minority individuals in New York City, and whether differences in connectedness existed across gender and race or ethnicity. Scores on the measure demonstrated both internal consistency and construct stability across subgroups defined by gender and race or ethnicity. The subgroups did not differ in their mean levels of connectedness, and scores on the measure demonstrated factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity, both generally and within each of the subgroups. Inconsistencies were observed with regard to which scores on the measure demonstrated predictive validity in their associations with indicators of mental health and well-being. The scale is a useful tool for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the role of community connectedness in the lives of diverse populations of sexual minority individuals.

Research on dynamics within communities of sexual and gender minorities is scant, despite reports that people experience prejudice within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) spaces. The present research examined dynamics within LGBTQ communities and used gender as a lens of understanding bisexual prejudice among lesbian women and gay men. In two online studies with lesbian and gay participants (N Study1 120; N Study2 165), we randomly assigned participants to reflect on lesbian and gay people's attitudes toward bisexual women or bisexual men. In each study, we evaluated lesbian and gay people's perceptions of identity instability, sexual irresponsibility, and interpersonal hostility. In Study 2, we proposed that beliefs about bisexual people's attraction (to men or to women) serve as a mechanism of bisexual prejudice among lesbian and gay people. We found that people perceived bisexual women and men as being more sexually attracted to men than they are to women, which helps to explain why some lesbian women reported more negative attitudes toward bisexual women than gay men did. Moreover, we tested whether lesbian and gay people's identification with their ingroup, as well as their experiences with dating bisexuals, exacerbated negative perceptions of bisexuals. Taken together, these studies offer implications for reducing bisexual health disparities via improving dynamics within LGBTQ communities. Public Significance Statement This research suggests that gender dynamics play a critical role in how bisexual women and men are evaluated in LGBTQ communities. Lesbian and gay people perceive bisexual women and men as being more sexually attracted to men than they are to women, which helps to explain why some lesbian women may feel negatively about bisexual women. These results shed light on how and why bisexual individuals may experience prejudice from lesbian and gay people.

Queer men's iconising of female superstars is a global phenomenon and India too has had its share of female superstars who have been worshipped widely by queer men, irrespective of class, caste, or location.

https://thewire.in/film/sridevi-dancing-queen-queer-icon

We are pleased to announce the publication of the report Families of Choice in Poland. Family Life of Non-heterosexual Persons prepared by Prof. Joanna Mizielińska, Marta Abramowicz, and Agata Stasińska.

In the quantitative part of the research team approached 3038 people from all over Poland of various ages (between 18 and 61 years of age), living in relationships of various duration (from 6 months to 42 years). 9% of the respondents live in families with children (from one to four children). It is the first time so much data concerning children raised by non-heterosexual people was collected.