Marriage and the civilizing of male sexual nature.

Comments on the article by G. M. Herek, "Legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the United States," (see record 2006-11202-004). There are many arguable contentions Herek made in his defense of same-sex marriage. We have chosen to focus on only one in this commentary: What is the active ingredient in marriage that serves the socially advantageous goal of civilizing male sexual nature? Our contention is that the primary civilizing agent is not marriage, the institution, but rather the gender complementarity that marriage has traditionally afforded. Contrary to this view, Herek appears to contend in a somewhat less than certain fashion that access to legal marriage will translate into greater rates of sexual fidelity among gay men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptation to sexual orientation stigma: A comparison of bisexual and lesbian/gay adults.

This study extends research on dimensions of sexual minority experience by examining differences between bisexual and lesbian/gay adults in adaptation to sexual orientation stigma. The authors investigated sexual orientation self-disclosure, connection to community, and 4 identity-related variables (internalized homonegativity, stigma sensitivity, identity confusion, and identity superiority) in a community sample of 613 lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults. Sexual orientation effects were found on 3 of these 6 variables: Bisexual participants reported higher levels of identity confusion and lower levels of both self-disclosure and community connection relative to their lesbian/gay peers. Taken together, the 6 variables predicted indicators of psychosocial functioning. Associations among the 6 dimensions of sexual minority experience and psychosocial functioning did not differ for bisexual and lesbian/gay participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology research on sexual (orientation) minority issues: Conceptual and methodological challenges and opportunities.

This lead article of the special issue discusses conceptual and methodological considerations in studying sexual minority issues, particularly in research conducted by counseling psychologists (including the work represented in this special issue). First, the overarching challenge of conceptualizing and defining sexual minority populations is described. Second, the importance and value of scholarship about sexual minority issues are highlighted. Third, challenges in sexual minority research are outlined, using the articles in this special issue for illustrative purposes, and suggestions are offered for consideration in future research. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which counseling psychologists are uniquely positioned to advance knowledge, practice, and social justice through research on sexual minority issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual orientation and suicide attempt: A longitudinal study of the general Norwegian adolescent population.

Past and future suicide attempt rates among gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) young people were compared with those of heterosexual young people. A sample of Norwegian students (N=2,924; grades 7-12) was followed in 3 data collection waves. Risk factors included previous suicide attempt, depressed mood, eating problems, conduct problems, early sexual debut, number of sexual partners, pubertal timing, self-concept, alcohol and drug use, atypical gender roles, loneliness, peer relations, social support. parental attachment, parental monitoring, and suicidal behavior among family and friends. When homosexual attraction, homosexual identity, and same-sex sexual behavior were entered to predict suicide attempt, only same-sex sexual behavior was significantly predictive. The increased odds could not be attributed to GLB students' greater exposure to risk factors for suicide attempt. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

LGB allies and Christian identity: A qualitative exploration of resolving conflicts and integrating identities.

A phenomenological method of qualitative inquiry was used to understand the process by which individuals who hold identities of being both a Christian and an ally of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals make meaning of and integrate these 2 identities. Interviews were conducted with 11 doctoral-level psychologists who self-identified as being LGB allies, as holding Christian-based beliefs, and as living in the midwestern United States. Data analysis revealed that integration of Christian and LGB-ally identities involves increasing awareness of conflict among one’s identities or values, experiencing confusion and dissonance, engaging in questioning and exploration processes, challenging and redefining the self, and identifying integration as a goal toward which one is moving as a way to manage and honor one’s identities. Questioning and exploration processes involved self-exploration and self-acceptance and exploration of Christian-based beliefs and beliefs about sexual orientation. The processes revealed that the Christian LGB allies exemplified personal qualities such as having a questioning mind and valuing integrity, spirituality, and congruence between beliefs and behavior. Experiences influencing conflict resolution and integration of identities were described. These included relationships, education and training, specific emotional experiences, and cultural factors such as experiences of oppression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generativity and spiritual disclosure in close relationships.

This exploratory study examines the link between generativity and an interpersonal aspect of religion and spirituality, spiritual disclosure, in close relationships. Three hundred seventy-eight adults aged 18 to 85 years were asked about their use of spiritual disclosure with close friends, views on their own generativity, questions related to personality characteristics, and level of general self-disclosure. This community sample’s reports on higher levels of spiritual disclosure were tied to higher levels of generativity and general self-disclosure. Spiritual disclosure also predicted unique variance in generativity beyond general self-disclosure, personality, and intrapersonal aspects of religion and spirituality. These findings suggest spiritual disclosure in close relationships is an important part of the religious/spiritual landscape, which merits further study in relation to generativity and other prosocial indices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internalized stigma among sexual minority adults: Insights from a social psychological perspective.

This article describes a social psychological framework for understanding sexual stigma, and it reports data on sexual minority individuals' stigma-related experiences. The framework distinguishes between stigma's manifestations in society's institutions (heterosexism) and among individuals. The latter include enacted sexual stigma (overt negative actions against sexual minorities, such as hate crimes), felt sexual stigma (expectations about the circumstances in which sexual stigma will be enacted), and internalized sexual stigma (personal acceptance of sexual stigma as part of one's value system and self-concept). Drawing from previous research on internalized sexual stigma among heterosexuals (i.e., sexual prejudice), the article considers possible parallels in how sexual minorities experience internalized sexual stigma (i.e., self-stigma, or negative attitudes toward the self). Data are presented from a community sample of lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults (N = 2,259) to illustrate the model's utility for generating and testing hypotheses concerning self-stigma. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Was it a phase? Young women's relinquishment of lesbian/bisexual identities over a 5-year period.

There have been many anecdotal accounts of individuals who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual only to relinquish these identities later. The current study examines this phenomenon among a sample of young nonheterosexual women who underwent 3 interviews over a 5-year period. Over a quarter of the women relinquished their lesbian/bisexual identities during this period: half reclaimed heterosexual identities and half gave up all identity labels. These women did not differ from those who maintained lesbian/bisexual identities regarding the age at which they underwent sexual identity milestones, the factors that precipitated their sexual questioning, or their recollection of childhood "indicators" same-sex sexuality. Women who relinquished their identities for heterosexual identities had small ratios of same-sex to other-sex attractions across the 5-year assessment period, but their attractions did not significantly change. Only 1 woman described her previous same-sex identification as a phase; the rest emphasized changes in how they interpreted or acted on their attractions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Minority stress and mental health among Dutch LGBs: Examination of differences between sex and sexual orientation.

Minority stress is often cited as an explanation for greater mental health problems among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals than heterosexual individuals. However, studies focusing on sex or sexual orientation differences in level of minority stress and its impact on mental health are scarce, even more so outside the United States. Performing secondary analyses on the data of a Dutch population study on sexual health, the present study examines the robustness of the minority stress model by explaining mental health problems among men and women with mostly or only same-sex sexual attraction, and men and women who are equally attracted to same-sex and opposite-sex partners in the “gay-friendly” Netherlands (N = 389; 118 gay men, 40 bisexual men, 184 lesbian women, and 54 bisexual women). Results showed that minority stress is also related to mental health of Dutch LGBs. Participants with a higher level of internalized homonegativity and those who more often encountered negative reactions from other people on their same-sex sexual attraction reported more mental health problems. Such negative reactions from others, however, had a stronger link with mental health among lesbian/gay than among bisexual participants. Openness about one's sexual orientation was related to better mental health among sexual minority women, but not among their male counterparts. Suggestions for future research, implications for counseling, and other societal interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the United States: A social science perspective.

Whether and how civil society should recognize committed relationships between same-sex partners has become a prominent, often divisive, policy issue. The present article reviews relevant behavioral and social science research to assess the validity of key factual claims in this debate. The data indicate that same-sex and heterosexual relationships do not differ in their essential psychosocial dimensions; that a parent's sexual orientation is unrelated to her or his ability to provide a healthy and nurturing family environment; and that marriage bestows substantial psychological, social, and health benefits. It is concluded that same-sex couples and their children are likely to benefit in numerous ways from legal recognition of their families, and providing such recognition through marriage will bestow greater benefit than civil unions or domestic partnerships. Trends in public opinion toward greater support for legal recognition of same-sex couples are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negotiating connection to GLBT experience: Family members' experience of anti-GLBT movements and policies.

There have been numerous legislative initiatives to limit gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people's rights at local, state, and national levels (G. M. Herek, 2006). Although research has focused on how GLBT people are affected by these initiatives, to date no research has explored the impact of this legislation upon the families of origin of GLBT people. This qualitative study sought to explore this topic. Through use of grounded theory methodology (B. G. Glaser & A. L. Strauss, 1967), 10 family members of GLBT people living in a state facing a marriage amendment to limit marriage to heterosexual couples were interviewed. All participants interviewed for this study were supportive of their GLBT relative. The results of this study reflected that anti-GLBT movements and policies affected participants' personal relationships, mental and physical health, perspectives about their country and government, and hopes about the future. Movements and policies shaped personal identity and beliefs for some participants. The clusters, underlying categories and a core category of this study, Negotiating My Connection to GLBT experience, are described with implications for counseling psychologists and other mental health professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and sexual identity-based predictors of lesbian, gay, and bisexual affirmative counseling self-efficacy.

This exploratory study applies the tenets of social cognitive theory to investigate the influence of gender self-confidence and of sexual identity exploration and commitment on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) affirmative counselor self-efficacy. Data were gathered from a convenience sample of 178 mental health clinicians. Controlling for participants' age, professional experience, level of income, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation, findings revealed that higher levels of LGB-affirmative counseling self-efficacy were positively associated with gender self-definition and with sexual identity commitment. Post hoc analyses conducted with the 5 subscales of the LGB-affirmative counseling self-efficacy measure indicated that findings varied across specific self-efficacy domains. Implications of these results for continuing education, training, and research promoting LGB-affirmative psychotherapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual orientation across the life span: Introduction to the special section.

What impact does sexual orientation have on human development over the life span? As questions related to sexual orientation have become increasingly topics of public discussion and debate in recent years, psychological study of the issues has also burgeoned. What was once a new frontier for research has matured into a large, complex, and rapidly growing area of knowledge. Important research is being conducted on many issues, by diverse investigators, from a number of theoretical perspectives, in many parts of the world. The articles in this special section provide only a sampling of current research, but they begin to suggest the vitality and excitement of a field that is coming into its own. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists' advocacy for the legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Comments on the article by G. Herek, "Legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the United States: A social science perspective," (see record 2006-11202-004). Herek provided a useful overview of psychological research relevant to the legal recognition of same-sex marriages. Another avenue of advocacy that the American Psychological Association could undertake would be to take advantage of its status as an accredited nongovernmental organization at the United Nations and aim to amend the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, originally approved in 1948. This document, noble in many respects, contains standards that limit the rights of gays and lesbians to legally marry. It is troubling that the very United Nations that advocates for human rights around the globe perpetuates these hetero-normative standards. Amending the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights would be a positive step toward providing a legal rationale and international precedent for equal civil rights for gays and lesbians within the United States and other countries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Finding equilibrium: Mentoring, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The authors explore mentoring relationships in which one or both members are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). They highlight the role of stigma, in its variable presentations, as an important underpinning of these relationships. They argue that explicit attention to stigma, both within the mentoring relationship and beyond, is of value to the mentoring process and outcome. The authors offer a developmental perspective on mentoring needs, and they suggest specific considerations for LGBT and heterosexual mentors of LGBT students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pink triangles: Antecedents and consequences of perceived workplace discrimination against gay and lesbian employees.

A model of perceived sexual orientation discrimination was tested in a national sample of 534 gay and lesbian employees. The effects of legislation, organizational policies and practices, and work group composition on perceived sexual orientation discrimination were examined, as well as the attitudinal and organizational outcomes associated with discrimination. Gay employees were more likely to report discrimination when employed in groups that were primarily heterosexual and in organizations that lacked supportive policies and were not covered by protective legislation. Disclosure of sexual orientation at work was related to discrimination and antecedent variables. Perceived discrimination was associated with negative work attitudes and fewer promotions. Organizational policies and practices had the strongest impact on perceived discrimination and were directly related to outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Science and advocacy issues in research on children of gay and lesbian parents.

Herek (see record 2006-11202-004) identified the question "Does having gay, lesbian, or bisexual parents disadvantage a child relative to comparable children of heterosexual parents, parents, such that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is ultimately beneficial for children?" (p. 607) as a central issue that has featured prominently in legal and policy debates about same-sex marriage. This comment is a response to Herek's minimization of the significance of the virtual lack of any research focusing on the overall adjustment of children of gay fathers and his failure to clarify that findings about children raised by lesbians are being generalized to children of gay fathers. Given that opponents make egregious statements about the unfitness of gay and lesbian parents and the pathology of their children, are we justified in lowering our standards about how scientific research is described and reported? Herek was correct when he called for more research in understudied areas (p. 614), but until such research is conducted, psychologists must consider carefully what standards to use in summarizing and communicating research findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-acceptance and self-disclosure of sexual orientation in lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults: An attachment perspective.

A model linking attachment variables with self-acceptance and self-disclosure of sexual orientation was tested using data from 489 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults. The model included the following 4 domains of variables: (a) representations of childhood attachment experiences with parents, (b) perceptions of parental support for sexual orientation, (c) general working model of attachment, and (d) LGB variables. Results generally supported the proposed model. For example, attachment avoidance and anxiety were associated with self-acceptance difficulties, and avoidance was associated with low levels of outness in everyday life. Parental attachment had an indirect effect on identity and outness through its associations with parental LGB support and general attachment. Some results varied depending on participants' gender and parental religious affiliation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Science, public policy, and legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

In their comments on my article discussing the social science data relevant to societal recognition of same-sex committed relationships (see record 2006-11202-004), Rosik and Byrd (see record 2007-14606-024) and Schiller (see record 2007-14606-025) criticized aspects of my analysis and raised questions about the role of psychology in policy debates concerning sexual orientation. In the limited space available here, I first respond to their specific criticisms and then briefly consider the broader policy question. Both comments raised questions about whether and how psychologists should address policy issues related to sexual orientation. Rosik and Byrd advocated what they called a "measured approach" that "would distinguish the social scientist from the social activist" (p. 712). In practice, however, their measured approach apparently allows for vague constructs (e.g., men's "uncivilized" sexual nature), accepts conservative social activists' assumptions (e.g., about the necessity of marital "gender complementarity"), and ignores data that contradict their predictions (e.g., Badgett, 2004). Thus, it clearly is inadequate as a source for guidance. As for Tyler's fourth criterion (see record 200714606-026), it is difficult to know if and how psychologists' efforts in this arena will be effective. Regardless of the ultimate policy outcome, however, to the extent that we successfully communicate accurate information about the current state of scientific knowledge on sexual orientation and same-sex relationships, we will have remained true to our commitment to take a leading role in removing the stigma associated with homosexuality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sanctification of sexuality: Implications for newlyweds' marital and sexual quality.

Research on the intersection of sexuality, religion, and spirituality has primarily examined whether global levels of religiousness (e.g., service attendance) deter premarital and extramarital sexual activity. Virtually no empirical work has addressed whether specific spiritual beliefs about sexuality enhance marital sexuality. Using a community sample of 83 individuals married between 4 and 18 months, we found that greater perceptions of sexuality as sanctified predicted greater marital satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, sexual intimacy, and spiritual intimacy beyond global religiousness and demographics. The findings open a new line of research on religion and family life, and extend theories on the possible benefits of the sanctification of intimate relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)