Mental Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Siblings: Effects of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Family.

Self-identified lesbian, gay male, and bisexual (LGB) individuals were recruited via convenience sampling, and they in turn recruited their siblings (79% heterosexual, 19% LGB). The resulting sample of 533 heterosexual, 558 lesbian or gay male, and 163 bisexual participants was compared on mental health variables and their use of mental health services. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that sexual orientation predicted suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, self-injurious behavior, use of psychotherapy, and use of psychiatric medications over and above the effects of family adjustment. Sexual orientation was unrelated to current psychological distress, psychiatric hospitalizations, and self-esteem. This is the 1st study to model family effects on the mental health of LGB participants and their siblings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making the invisible visible: Fear and disclosure of sexual orientation at work.

Stigma theory was used to examine the fears underlying the disclosure of a gay identity at work. Using a national sample of 534 gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees, this study examined the antecedents that affect the degree of disclosure of a gay identity at work and, for those who had not disclosed, the factors that influence their fears about full disclosure. Employees reported less fear and more disclosure when they worked in a group that was perceived as supportive and sharing their stigma. Perceptions of past experience with sexual orientation discrimination were related to increased fears but to greater disclosure. For those who had not fully disclosed their stigma, the fears associated with disclosure predicted job attitudes, psychological strain, work environment, and career outcomes. However, actual disclosure was unrelated to these variables. The utility of fear of disclosure for understanding processes underlying the disclosure of gay and other invisible stigmatized identities in the workplace is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inclusion and belonging in the family rituals of gay and lesbian people.

Survey data collected from 400 non-metropolitan gay men and lesbians were used to examine what factors lead them to attend a family-of-origin ritual and affect their sense of belonging during the event. The present study was inspired by qualitative findings regarding the production of outsider status during rituals. Attendance and belonging were both predicted by type of ritual and the quality of relationships with families of origin. Also, partners were more likely to be invited when the couple relationship was more visible. Residential community climate, age, income, and gender were not significant. The family membership complexities of gay and lesbian people are discussed, and a more nuanced understanding of membership during ritual is encouraged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring homonegativity: A psychometric analysis.

Although several good instruments have been developed to measure homonegativity, a comparative psychometric analysis of such instruments has not been published since Schwanberg (1993). The current investigation draws on several samples (including an annual survey of introductory human sexuality students) to examine the psychometric properties of 3 commonly used measures of homonegativity: Hudson and Ricketts' (1980) Index of Homophobia, Herek's (1984, 1988) Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men, and Morrison and Morrison's (2002) Modern Homonegativity Scale. The validity of each instrument was assessed, and each demonstrated approximately normally distributed data, high reliability, and a unidimensional factor structure. The 3 instruments are strongly intercorrelated and demonstrate a high degree of both convergent and discriminant validity. It is suggested that the Modern Homonegativity Scale has a slight advantage because it results in somewhat more normally distributed data than the other 2 scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Rorschach and TAT indices of homosexuality in overt homosexuals, neurotics, and normal males": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Anthony Davids, Mark Joelson, and Charles McArthur (Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology, 1956[Sept], 53, 161-172). In the section on TAT results, under the heading of Signs suggested for further confirmation (p. 168), it states incorrectly (line 15) that the sign of a strong unresolved attachment to a father or father figure was scored in stories composed for Card 8. The sign was in fact scored in stories composed for TAT Card 7. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1958-02891-001). Rorschach and TAT protocols of 20 male overt homosexuals, 20 male neurotics, and 20 normal male students were compared in order to determine whether proposed homosexual signs were discriminative. The homosexual group gave a significantly greater mean number of the Rorschach and TAT signs than did either nonhomosexual group. "Within the homosexual group, correlation between the number of Rorschach signs and number of TAT signs produced by each S proved significant, serving as a check on the validity of both schemes and indicating the consistency of these 2 diverse measures of homosexuality." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

清季北京相公及士优男风文化

北京是清代的政治中心,亦是相公文化的发源地。明清两季男风盛行,妙龄韶秀、男而饰女的伶童自然成为男色爱好者们渔猎的对象,他们也因此获得了“相公”这一称号。京城士宦成为相公的最大消费群体,个中原因除传统的禁娼说外,还有清季士人独特的审美心理及消费时尚。     

Gay-related stress and emotional distress among gay, lesbian and bisexual youths: A longitudinal examination.

The longitudinal relations between gay-related stress (i.e., gay-related stressful events, negative attitudes toward homosexuality, and discomfort with homosexuality) and emotional distress (i.e., anxious symptoms, depressive symptoms, and conduct problems) were examined at 3 assessment periods (baseline, 6 months, and 12 months) among 140 gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) youths. Although some findings were consistent with the hypothesis that stress would be associated with subsequent distress among GLB youths, the larger number of nonsignificant relations and the presence of relations between distress and subsequent gay-related stress indicate that the hypothesis was unsupported. The authors discuss the potential reasons for the lack of hypothesized relations and offer suggestions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attraction and aversion to power: A psychoanalytic conflict theory of homosexuality in male paranoids.

Consideration of psychoanalytic views of paranoid symptomatology led to the assumption of an approach-avoidance conflict in male paranoids regarding power in other men. Approach involved wishes to be dependent on powerful men and to appropriate their power through magical sexual-aggressive means. Avoidance involved anticipated fears of retaliatory injury and destruction by more powerfully perceived males. A deduction that increments in the power of males, but not females, would result in paranoids' decreased resultant attraction was confirmed. The traditional, undifferentiated like-sex attraction hypothesis was not supported. (38 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist qualities preferred by sexual-minority individuals.

Psychotherapy research concerning lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has focused on matching clients on gender and sexual orientation, yet has not considered how factors such as therapeutic skill, presenting problem, and cohort membership may influence preference for therapists. This study was designed to identify those therapist qualities that sexual-minority individuals prefer and to determine how the presenting problem influences therapist choice. Forty-two nonheterosexual adults between 18 and 29 years old ranked 63 therapist characteristics from "Extremely Uncharacteristic" to "Extremely Characteristic" when seeking treatment for a problem in which their sexual orientation was salient and one in which it was not. The analyses of both conditions yielded clusters of items reflecting therapist characteristics that participants considered unfavorable, neutral, beneficial, and essential. Participants valued therapists who had LGB-specific knowledge as well as general therapeutic skills, whereas they indicated that they would avoid therapists who held heterocentric views. Application of these findings to clinical practice and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determinants of aggression toward sexual minorities in a community sample.

Objective: Sexual prejudice and masculine gender role stress were examined as mediators of the associations between adherence to different male gender norms and aggression toward sexual minorities. This study also sought to extend past research to a community sample and use multiple methods to assess aggression. Method: Participants were 199 heterosexual men between the ages of 18 and 30 who were recruited from a large southeastern U.S. city. Participants completed measures of adherence to male gender role norms, sexual prejudice, masculine gender role stress, and aggression toward sexual minorities. Results: Associations between adherence to the status and antifemininity norms and aggression toward sexual minorities were mediated by sexual prejudice but not masculine gender role stress. The portion of unique association between adherence to the antifemininity norm and aggression toward sexual minorities was about three times larger than the portion mediated by sexual prejudice and masculine gender role stress. Conclusion: Findings provide the first multivariate evidence from a community-based sample for determinants of aggression toward sexual minorities motivated by gender role enforcement. These data support intervention programming and preventative intervention studies aimed at reducing sexual prejudice and facilitating less stereotypic attitudes about the male gender role, particularly surrounding the antifemininity norm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)