Intergroup Dialogue Courses on Sexual Orientation: Lesbian,Gay and Bisexual Student Experiences and Outcomes

Intergroup dialogue is a method of social justice education. Most intergroup dialogue research explores race and gender identities. Sexual orientation dialogues are uncommon and not yet examined empirically. This qualitative study explores sexual orientation dialogue courses from the perspective of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) student participants. Understanding target, or marginalized, group perspective of planned intergroup experiences is important given concerns raised in the literature. We document student motivations for participating in dialogues, core outcomes, and main challenges that arose in dialogue. Core outcomes include learning about and accepting one's sexual identity and empowerment. Challenges include those stemming from invisibility of sexual orientation identity. Recommendations are made for intergroup dialogue practice and research.     

Intergroup dialogue courses on sexual orientation: lesbian, gay and bisexual student experiences and outcomes

Intergroup dialogue is a method of social justice education. Most intergroup dialogue research explores race and gender identities. Sexual orientation dialogues are uncommon and not yet examined empirically. This qualitative study explores sexual orientation dialogue courses from the perspective of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) student participants. Understanding target, or marginalized, group perspective of planned intergroup experiences is important given concerns raised in the literature. We document student motivations for participating in dialogues, core outcomes, and main challenges that arose in dialogue. Core outcomes include learning about and accepting one's sexual identity and empowerment. Challenges include those stemming from invisibility of sexual orientation identity. Recommendations are made for intergroup dialogue practice and research.     

Staff Reactions Toward Lesbian,Gay, or Bisexual (LGB) People Living in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) Who Actively Disclose Their Sexual Orientation

Fifty-three staff members currently working in residential aged care facilities located in Barcelona, Spain, were asked about the way they would react if a resident told them that he or she felt sexually attracted and had maintained sexual relationships with another resident of the same gender. Acceptance of non-heterosexual sexual orientation was a frequent answer, and around one in four professionals stated that they would try helping the resident in question, by offering a private space or giving some emotional support. However, some reactions were not consistent with a respectful approach toward sexual diversity, as, for instance, informing the resident’s family or advising the resident to keep his or her sexual orientation hidden. We highlight the importance of developing formal policies and offering formal training to staff in order to address the specific needs of older LGB people living in RACFs.     

Sense of belonging in secondary schools: a survey of LGB and heterosexual students in Flanders

This study focuses on differences in sense of belonging between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual students. Data from 1,745 secondary school students were collected with an online survey. Step-wise multiple regression analyses was used to investigate the relationship between sexual orientation and sense of school belonging. The results show that sexual orientation has an impact on sense of belonging for girls, but not for boys. Perceived discrimination and LGB friendliness of the school appeared to be important indicators of sense of belonging for all the respondents, irrespective of their sexual orientation.     

Barriers to Optimal Care between Physicians and Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Transgender, and Questioning Adolescent Patients

The objective of this article was to identify barriers to optimal care between physicians and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) adolescents. To this end, 464 anonymous, self-administered surveys were distributed in 2003 to residents and attending physicians in pediatrics, internal medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, psychiatry, emergency medicine, and family practice at Upstate Medical University. The survey included questions pertaining to practice, knowledge, and attitude pertaining to lesbian, gay, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) adolescents. One hundred eight four surveys were returned. The majority of physicians would not regularly discuss sexual orientation, sexual attraction, or gender identity while taking a sexual history from a sexually active adolescent. As well, the majority of physicians would not ask patients about sexual orientation if an adolescent presented with depression, suicidal thoughts, or had attempted suicide. If an adolescent stated that he or she was not sexually active, 41% of physicians reported that they would not ask additional sexual health-related questions. Only 57% agreed to an association between being a LGBTQ adolescent and suicide. The majority of physicians did not believe that they had all the skills they needed to address issues of sexual orientation with adolescents, and that sexual orientation should be addressed more often with these patients and in the course of training. This study concludes that barriers in providing optimal care for LGBTQ adolescents can be found with regard to practice, knowledge, and attitude regardless of medical field and other demographics collected. Opportunities exist to enhance care for LGBTQ adolescents.     

Development of a Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual Visibility Management Scale

Many lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals manage the degree to which their sexual orientation is known to others. Visibility management, the process of regulating the exposure of one's orientation, is an important part of the lesbian/gay/bisexual experience in community, family, and virtually all other social settings. The degree to which one allows his or her sexual orientation to be visible can have a profound impact on stress, health, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, and quality of life. The purpose of the present study was to develop a valid and reliable measure of visibility management. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual-Visibility Management Scale was constructed and piloted with a small sample of LGB adults. Results support the potential utility of the LGB scale based on satisfactory evidence of construct validity, item-level discrimination, and subscale reliability.     

Dishonorable Passions: Sodomy Laws in America 1861–2003 by William N. Eskridge

This article develops a model that describes relations among environmental characteristics, discrimination and visibility management, and the experience of minority stressors by lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth. The article elaborates on how visibility management (i.e., regulating the exposure of one's sexual orientation) of LGB youth can function as a coping strategy and is, therefore, closely tied to the experience of minority stressors. Qualitative support is found for the theoretical model in conducting 24 in-depth interviews with LGB youth. The analysis also shows that LGB youth use specific mannerisms, gender-nonconformist behaviors, and other indirect cues to make themselves visible or invisible as LGBs.     

Coping With Sexual Orientation–Related Minority Stress

Little is known about how adolescents cope with minority stressors related to sexual orientation. This study examined 245 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adult’s (ages 21–25) retrospective reports of coping in response to LGB minority stress during adolescence (ages 13–19) to test the reliability and validity of a measure of minority stress coping. Further, the study examined associations between LGB minority stress coping and young adult psychosocial adjustment and high school attainment. Validation and reliability was found for three minority stress coping strategies: LGB-specific strategies (e.g., involvement with LGBT organizations), alternative-seeking strategies (e.g., finding new friends), and cognitive strategies (e.g., imagining a better future). LGB-specific strategies were associated with better psychosocial adjustment and greater likelihood of high school attainment in young adulthood, whereas alternative-seeking and cognitive-based strategies were associated with poorer adjustment and less likelihood of high school attainment.     

Amnestic Heterosexism and Bystander Responses to Anti-Gay Bullying

Amnestic heterosexism (AH) reflects the belief that, in contemporary society, people who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) no longer experience discrimination related to sexual orientation. We investigated potential associations between individuals’ AH beliefs and their responses to anti-gay bullying. Heterosexual undergraduates (N = 238) completed a measure of AH before responding to a scenario in which a man accuses another man of being a “fag.” As expected, those with greater AH beliefs perceived the situation as less severe/dangerous, felt less personally responsible to intervene, and were more blaming toward the target of bullying. In multivariate analyses, AH was indirectly associated with intent to confront the perpetrator via a path of reduced personal responsibility. Our results indicate that beliefs denying the existence of discrimination based on sexual orientation reduce feelings of personal responsibility to address anti-gay bullying. In turn, low personal responsibility inhibits confrontation of those who perpetrate bullying behaviors.     

Parents' supportive reactions to sexual orientation disclosure associated with better health: results from a population-based survey of LGB adults in Massachusetts

This study investigated associations between coming out to parents, experiences of parental support, and self-reported health behaviors and conditions among a population-based sample of LGB individuals using data collected via the 2002 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS; N = 177). We explored the following two hypotheses: 1) Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who had never disclosed their sexual orientation to a parent would report higher levels of risk behaviors and poorer health conditions than those who had come out; and 2) among LGB respondents who had come out to their parents, the individuals whose parents had reacted unsupportively would report higher levels of risk behaviors and poorer health conditions than those who had come out to parents who were supportive. Approximately two thirds of gay and bisexual (GB) males and lesbian and bisexual (LB) females reported receiving adequate social and emotional support from the parent to whom they first disclosed their sexual orientation. Among LB females, no disclosure of sexual orientation to a parent was associated with significantly elevated levels of past-month illicit drug use (AOR 12.16, 95% CI 2.87-51.54), fair or poor self-reported health status (AOR 5.71, 95% CI 1.45-22.51), and >15 days of depression in the past month (AOR 5.95, 95% CI 1.78-19.90), controlling for potential confounders. However, nondisclosure to a parent by GB males was not associated with greater odds of any of the health indicators assessed. Among GB males, those with unsupportive parents were significantly more likely to report current binge drinking (AOR 6.94, 95% CI 1.70-28.35) and >15 days depression in the past month (AOR 6.08, 95% CI 1.15-32.15), and among LB females, those with unsupportive parents were significantly more likely to report lifetime illicit drug use (AOR 11.43, 95% CI 2.50-52.30), and >15 days depression in the past month (AOR 5.51, 95% CI 1.36-22.36). We conclude that coming out may be associated with better health for LB women, and that parents who react nonsupportively when their children disclose LGB sexual orientation may contribute to children's increased odds of depression and hazardous substance use.     

Exploring relationships between sexual orientation and satisfaction with faculty and staff interactions

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) students are a unique population within colleges and universities, yet, few studies have sought to uncover the distinctive environmental influences and background characteristics that foster their satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between sexual orientation and a sense of satisfaction with faculty and staff interactions among undergraduate students. Analysis of variance results indicated that LGB students, on average, reported significantly higher satisfaction with faculty and staff interactions than heterosexual students. Using Astin's (1993 ) input-environments-outcome model as a conceptual framework, the hierarchical regression analysis yielded numerous significant variables as predictors for student satisfaction with faculty and staff interactions.     

Outside Looking In: The Community Impacts of Anti-Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Hate Crime

Hate crime scholars have long argued that the harms of hate crime extend beyond the immediate victim to negatively impact the victim’s reference community. However, this assertion is speculative and in need of empirical support. Utilizing focus group data from 15 people who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or pansexual, this pilot study explored the extent to which the harms of anti-LGB hate crime spread beyond the immediate victim to impact nonvictims in the LGB community. The findings suggest that anti-LGB hate violence can have profound and negative effects on the psychological and emotional well-being of nonvictims who are LGB and may result in dramatic behavioral change as well. The findings also indicate that hate violence negatively affected participants’ decisions to disclose their sexual orientation to others. On a more positive note, however, awareness of such violence may also mobilize some people within the LGB community.     

Gay Seouls: Expanding Religious Spaces for Non-Heterosexuals in South Korea

What Protestant congregations offer spaces for worship and dialogue among persons with different sexual orientations? The academic literature finds or assumes that non-heterosexuals are stigmatized or invisible in theologically conservative congregations and are welcomed in progressive, affirming congregations. This article develops an alternative claim that some conservative or evangelical congregations offer attractive spaces for non-heterosexuals to worship and dialogue. We illustrate with an exploratory study of four congregations in South Korea—two theologically progressive, two evangelical—whose pastors welcomed everybody regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The “inclusive-evangelical” congregations retained conservative theology on sexuality (sexual relations only within heterosexual marriage) but offered more empathic dialogue with non-heterosexuals than did most evangelical congregations; they also provided more resources, conventional religious culture, and ties to traditional affective networks than the affirming-progressive congregations. Inclusive-evangelical congregations offer an institutional venue for non-heterosexual Christians in Korea to potentially reconcile three central values: conservative Christianity, traditional (Confucian) affective networks, and expressive individualism.     

LGB Identity Among Young Chinese: The Influence of Traditional Culture

Based on the social construction perspective, this research aims to investigate how traditional cultural values may affect the way individuals interpret and negotiate with their minority sexual identity. Using an online survey questionnaire with a student sample of 149 Chinese lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, 2 elements of traditional Chinese culture were found to be associated with negative LGB identity among Chinese LGB students—namely, perceived parental attitudes toward marriage and participants' endorsements of filial piety values. In addition, the endorsement of filial piety moderated the relation between perceived parental attitudes toward marriage and LGB identity, such that the effect of parental attitude on LGB identity was only present among LGBs of high filial piety. This study suggests the importance of cultural values in shaping the way LGB individuals perceive their sexual identities.     

Left Out? Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Poverty in the U.S.

This paper analyzes the risk of poverty for self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people from mid-2013 through 2016 in the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative survey of households that includes a sexual orientation question based on identity (n = 112,143). The study tests the role of family structure—living with a spouse or partner and having children—on the risk of poverty for LGB and heterosexual respondents. After controlling for education, demographic, and health measures in a probit model, lesbians and gay men are as likely to be poor as similar heterosexuals, but bisexual women and men are significantly more likely to be poor, regardless of relationship status. Single and childless gay men are also more likely to be poor than single heterosexual men. Being in a relationship reduces the likelihood of poverty for people of all sexual orientations, but the data show evidence of a gender composition effect: married male same-sex couples are less likely and unmarried female same-sex couples more likely to be poor than their married counterparts. Marriage reduces gay men’s poverty risk more and children increase their poverty risk less than for heterosexual men.     

Experiences of Ex-Ex-Gay Individuals in Sexual Reorientation Therapy: Reasons for Seeking Treatment,Perceived Helpfulness and Harmfulness of Treatment,and Post-Treatment Identification

Therapy meant to change someone’s sexual orientation, or reorientation therapy, is still in practice despite statements from the major mental health organizations of its potential for harm. This qualitative study used an inductive content analysis strategy (Patton, 2002) to examine the experiences of thirty-eight individuals (31 males and seven females) who have been through a total of 113 episodes of reorientation therapy and currently identify as gay or lesbian. Religious beliefs were frequently cited as the reason for seeking reorientation therapy. Frequently endorsed themes of helpful components of reorientation therapy included connecting with others and feeling accepted. Harmful aspects of reorientation therapy included experiences of shame and negative impacts on mental health. Common reasons for identifying as LGB after the therapy included self-acceptance and coming to believe that sexual orientation change was not possible. The findings of this study were consistent with recommendations by the American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation (2009), which concluded that helpful aspects of reorientation therapy could be achieved through affirmative treatment methods while avoiding potential harms that may be associated with reorientation therapy. Limitations of the findings, including a small, self-selected sample, are discussed.     

The Schooling Experience of Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Youth in lsrael: Falling Below and Rising Above as a Matter of Social Ecology

ABSTRACT

Research on the schooling experience of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth in Israel and in other Western countries has been largely risk-focused, whereas extrinsic and intrinsic protective factors, which enable LGB adolescent students to cope with school homophobic bullying, are often overlooked. To address this shortcoming, the researchers conducted a qualitative study based on semistructured interviews with 20 LGB-identified secondary school students. The findings and implications emphasized the key role of adequate ecological protective factors for LGB youth in enhancing effective coping mechanisms in response to school homophobic bullying.     

Sexual health-related training of Canadian midwives and its association with practice outcome

BackgroundAlthough promoting sexual health should be an integral part of midwifery practice, little is known about midwives’ preparation to address their clients’ sexual health concerns.AimsTo assess the formal and self-directed training on sexual health topics relevant to midwifery practice of Canadian midwives as well as the association between training and various practice outcomes.MethodsForty midwives registered in the Province of Ontario, Canada completed an online survey assessing their formal and self-directed sexual health training, knowledge, comfort, and practice related to 10 sexual health issues.FindingsIn terms of formal training, three of the 10 topics were coved in-depth and seven were covered in general terms only or not at all. Participants had received an average of 26.0 hours of formal training related to sexual health. Almost all (90%) participants had engaged in self-directed learning on at least one topic. Participants had asked at least one client about only 5 of the 10 topics and been asked by at least one client about 4.5 of them. Participants who reported more extensive formal training had been asked about more sexual health topics by their clients. More self-directed learning was associated with more positive attitudes toward midwives’ role in addressing sexual health concerns, feeling more knowledgeable, and being asked about and asking about more sexual health topics.ConclusionThe midwives in this sample had limited training in some important sexual health issues relevant to midwifery practice. Likely as a result, they often did not address these issues in practice.     

Is Patients' Sexual Orientation a Blind Spot of Family Physicians?

ABSTRACT

Even though certain health needs of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) patients are unique and different from those of the heterosexual patient, physicians do not usually ask patients about their sexual orientation. This study investigates family physicians' common practice regarding their patients' sexual orientation. Most of the physicians surveyed knew of less than 0.5% GLB patients in their practice; 44.4% did not know of any GLB patients. Only one physician commonly asked his patients about their sexual orientation; other physicians rarely or never asked. Asking patients about their sexual orientation significantly (P < 0.01) predicted the number of GLB patients known to the physician. Asking about patients' sexual orientation is not a common practice for family physicians, and, thus, they are usually unaware of the GLB patients in their practice.     

The relation of social support, connectedness, and collective self-esteem to the psychological well-being of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth

The present study extended the research on the mental health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth by testing the relationship of social support, social connectedness, and collective self-esteem to psychological well-being in a sample of 218 LGB youth. Perceived social support significantly predicted psychological well-being subscales; social connectedness and collective self-esteem contributed significantly to the psychological well-being of the LGB participants when controlling for perceived social support. Age moderated the relations between several of the social and psychological well-being variables. Results of the study suggest that helping professionals working with LGB youth consider assessment of the youth's sense of connectedness to those around him/her and esteem related to LGB group membership in addition to assessing general social support.