Eric M. Rodriguez, Suzanne C. Ouellette, Gay and Lbian Christians: Homosexual and Relig Inty Integratn the Members and Participants of a Gay-Posive Church, Journal for the Scientific Study of Relign, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Sep., 2000), pp. 333-347
Contents:
- SEXUAL INTY DEVELOPMENT AMONG GAY, LBIAN, AND BISEXUAL YOUTHS: CONSISTENCY AND CHANGE OVER TIME
- DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF SEXUAL INTY DEVELOPMENT OVER TIME: IMPLITNS FOR THE PSYCHOLOGIL ADJTMENT OF LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL YOUTHS
- A QUANTATIVE EXAMATN OF INTY INTEGRATN GAY, LBIAN, AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE OF FAH
- GLOBAL INTIFITN PREDICTS GAY-MALE INTY TEGRATN AND WELL-BEG AMONG TURKISH GAY MEN.
- INTY INTEGRATN AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR AGAST GUILT AND SHAME FOR RELIG GAY MEN
- SEXUAL ORIENTATN INTY DEVELOPMENT MILTON AMONG LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND QUEER PEOPLE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS
- REVIEWSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIL ASPECTS OF GAY INTY VELOPMENT
- THE PROCS OF NTEMPORARY GAY INTY VELOPMENT CHA: THE FLUENCE OF TER E
SEXUAL INTY DEVELOPMENT AMONG GAY, LBIAN, AND BISEXUAL YOUTHS: CONSISTENCY AND CHANGE OVER TIME
Much of the relig/spirual velopment of gays, lbians, and bisexuals (GLBs) has foced on experienc of nflict and distrs, providg ltle sight to how the inti n be tegrated. The prent study explored the relig and spirual liv of GLBs wh a specific foc on … * gay identity integration *
Although youths who nsistently intified as gay/lbian did not differ om other youths on time sce experiencg sexual velopmental ton, they reported current sexual orientatn and sexual behavrs that were more same-sex centered and they sred higher on aspects of the inty tegratn procs (e. G., more certa, fortable, and acceptg of their same-sex sexualy, more volved gay-related social activi, more posssg of posive attus toward homosexualy, and more fortable wh others knowg about their sexualy) than youths who transed to a gay/lbian inty and youths who nsistently intified as bisexual. Keywords: Comg-out procs, sexual inty, sexual orientatn, sexual behavr, ternalized homophobia, gay, lbian, bisexual, adolcents, longudal, genr differencThe velopment of a gay, lbian, or bisexual (GLB) sexual inty is a plex and often difficult procs.
Inty formatn nsists of beg aware of one’s unfoldg sexual orientatn, begng to qutn whether one may be GLB, and explorg that emergg GLB inty by beg volved gay-related social activi and/or sexual activi (Cass, 1979; Chapman & Brannock, 1987; Morris, 1997; Troin, 1989). This is evint by the dividual g to accept a GLB inty, rolvg ternalized homophobia by transformg negative attus to posive attus, feelg fortable wh the ia that others may know about the unfoldg inty, and disclosg that inty to others (Morris, 1997; Rosar et al., 2001).
DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF SEXUAL INTY DEVELOPMENT OVER TIME: IMPLITNS FOR THE PSYCHOLOGIL ADJTMENT OF LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL YOUTHS
Stctural equatn mollg revealed that global intifitn posively predicted gay-male inty tegratn, and directly subjective well-beg, and alternative masculy reprentatns did not mediate this relatnship, illtratg how inty tegori different domas n tersect and affect each other plex ways. In most parts of the world, hegemonic masculy requir men to endorse tradnal mascule ials, one of which is rejectn of homosexualy. Wherever hegemonic masculy favours heterosexualy over homosexualy, gay mal may feel unr prsure to negotiate their nflictg male genr and gay sexual inti to mata posive self-perceptns. However, globalizatn, as a source of tercultural teractn, might provi a beneficial ntext for people wishg to create alternative masculi the face of hegemonic masculy. Hence, we tted if global intifitn would predict higher levels of gay-male inty tegratn, and directly subjective well-beg, via alternative masculy reprentatns for gay and male inti. A muny sample of 219 gay and bisexual men om Turkey pleted the study. Stctural equatn mollg revealed that global intifitn posively predicted gay-male inty tegratn, and directly subjective well-beg; however, alternative masculy reprentatns did not mediate this relatnship. Our fdgs illtrate how inty tegori different domas n tersect and affect each other plex ways. Moreover, we discs mental health and well-beg implitns for gay men livg cultur where they experience high levels of prejudice and stigma. * gay identity integration *
Among 216 behavrally bisexual men (ag 18 – 30 years), Stok and lleagu (1997) found that over the urse of one year, 49% reported no chang sexual orientatn, 34% beme more homosexually oriented, and 17% more heterosexually oriented. Given ngence theory, we hypothize that youths wh a nsistent gay/lbian inty would have a sexual orientatn that is more same-sex centered and would be more likely to report same-sex behavrs but ls likely to report other-sex behavrs than youths who, for example, recently transed om a bisexual inty to a gay/lbian inty. In an earlier report on our sample, we found that youths who self-intified as gay/lbian, as pared wh bisexual, were volved more gay-related social activi, endorsed more posive attus toward homosexualy, were more fortable wh other dividuals knowg about their same-sex sexualy, and disclosed their sexual inty to more dividuals (Rosar et al., 2001).
We hypothize that nsistently intified gay/lbian youths have a current sexual orientatn that is more same-sex centered, report a higher prevalence of sexual behavr wh the same sex but a lower prevalence of sexual behavr wh the other sex, and evince higher levels of inty tegratn than youths who have changed sexual inti or nsistently intified as bisexual. The equali are such that we hypothize that youths who have transed om a bisexual to a gay/lbian inty are more likely than nsistently bisexual youths to have a current sexual orientatn that is more same-sex centered, report a higher prevalence of sexual behavr wh the same sex but a lower prevalence of sexual behavr wh the other sex, and evince higher levels of inty tegratn. MethodParticipantsMale and female youths, ag 14 to 21 years, were reced om anizatns that serve GLB youths New York Cy, cludg three gay-foced muny-based anizatns (CBOs) and two GLB llege stunt anizatns om public lleg.
A QUANTATIVE EXAMATN OF INTY INTEGRATN GAY, LBIAN, AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE OF FAH
This paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis on sexual orientatn inty velopment ton among people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, or another sexual mory inty (LGB+). Common ton measured the 30 studi reviewed were beg aware of queer attractns, qutng one’s sexual orientatn, self-intifyg as LGB+, g out to others, engagg sexual activy, and iatg a romantic relatnship. Milton occurred different sequenc, although attractn was almost always first, often followed by self-intifitn and/or sexual activy; g out and iatg a romantic relatnship often followed the ton. Meta-analysis rults showed that the mean effect siz and 95% nfince tervals varied by tone: attractn [Mage=12.7 (10.1, 15.3)], qutng one’s orientatn [Mage=13.2 [12.8, 13.6]), self-intifyg [Mage=17.8 (11.6, 24.0)], sexual activy [Mage=18.1 (17.6, 18.6)], g out [Mage=19.6 (17.2, 22.0)], and romantic relatnship [Mage=20.9 (13.2, 28.6)]. Nohels, rults also showed substantial heterogeney the mean effect siz. Addnal meta-analys showed that tone timg varied by sex, sexual orientatn, race/ethnicy, and birth hort. Although patterns were found LGB+ inty velopment, there was nsirable diversy tone trajectori. * gay identity integration *
Each ponent of the SERBAS-Y ed this report is discsed tail Inty A sgle em om the SERBAS-Y asssed sexual inty at every asssment perd by askg youths, “When you thk about sex, do you thk of yourself as lbian/gay, bisexual, or straight? Youths also were asked about the age when they first thought they “might be” gay/lbian, when they first thought they “might be” bisexual, when they first thought they “really were” gay/lbian, and when they first thought they “really were” bisexual. Socsexual Developmental Milton As part of an ventory to asss volvement gay-related activi (Rosar et al., 2001; see below for tails), we asked youths at basele for the age when they first spoke or wrote to anyone (e.
GLOBAL INTIFITN PREDICTS GAY-MALE INTY TEGRATN AND WELL-BEG AMONG TURKISH GAY MEN.
* gay identity integration *
Attus Toward Homosexualy A 33-em sle adapted om the Nungser Homosexual Attus Inventory (Nungser, 1983) was modified for youths by simplifyg the language, makg more rmal, and generalizg the em ntent to clu both mal and femal.
Comfort wh Homosexualy A modified versn of the Nungser Homosexual Attus Inventory (see above for further scriptn; Nungser, 1983), was admistered at all three asssments g a 4-pot rponse sle rangg om “disagree strongly” (1) through “agree strongly” (4). 91 across the three asssments) of Sexual Inty to Others Youths were asked at basele to enumerate “all the people your life who are important or were important to you and whom you told that you are (lbian/gay/bisexual)” (Rosar et al., 2001). Certaty About, Comfort Wh, and Self-Acceptance of Sexualy At the 6-month and 12-month asssments, ems were add to asss the mment of the youths to their gay/lbian inty or to that part of their bisexual inty that was centered on the same sex (Rosar, Hunter, & Gwadz, 1994).
INTY INTEGRATN AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR AGAST GUILT AND SHAME FOR RELIG GAY MEN
Over the three subsequent asssments, the number of youths intifyg as gay/lbian creased, while the number of youths intifyg as only bisexual 1Sexual Inty at Every Asssment BaseleBasele6 months12 monthsOnly gay/lbian39%66%74%74%Both gay/lbian and bisexual39%nananaOnly bisexual22%31%23%19%Straightna1%4%5%Otherna2%0%1%Neher gay/lbian nor bisexual1%0%0%0%(n)(156)(156)(142)(140)The above examatn of sexual inty over time ignor potential chang wh youths of different sexual inti. Asssment PerdBasele6 months12 monthsGay/LbianBisexualGay/LbianBisexualGay/LbianBisexualInty Reported Prr to Basele (N = 155): Only gay/lbian (n = 60)100%0%93%7%98%2% Both gay/lbian and bisexual (n = 60)71%29%77%23%80%20% Only bisexual (n = 35)6%94%40%60%40%60%Inty Reported at Basele (N = 152): Gay/lbian (n = 103)93%7%93%7% Bisexual (n = 49)41%59%49%51%Inty Reported at Six Months (N = 137): Gay/lbian (n = 105)96%4% Bisexual (n = 32)30%70%Individual-Level Chang Sexual Inty Over TimeAs valuable as the aforementned data may be, they are limed bee the level of analysis is the sample rather than the dividual.
SEXUAL ORIENTATN INTY DEVELOPMENT MILTON AMONG LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND QUEER PEOPLE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS
Therefore, at the dividual-level of analysis, we created profil for each youth of the change sexual inty over the four longudal tim (see Table 3), rultg three major groups posed of youths who (1) nsistently self-intified as gay/lbian, (2) transed om bisexual to gay/lbian inti, or (3) nsistently self-intified as bisexual. Youths monstratg other patterns of change sexual inty also are prented Table 3; however, there were too few such youths for cln subsequent 3Individual-Level Consistency and Change Sexual Inty Over TimeSelf-Intified Sexual IntyN%Consistently gay/lbian8757%Transed om bisexual to gay/lbian2718%Consistently bisexual2215%Transed om gay/lbian to bisexual85%Transed om bisexual to straight53%Transed om gay/lbian to straight32%Change Sexual Inty: Univariate RelatnsWe ed a seri of one-way ANOVAs to pare the three GLB sexual inty groups (i. Consistently gay/lbian youths had their first discsn about same-sex sexualy wh another dividual and were volved a gay-related social activy for at least a year longer than eher of the other two groups of 4Differenc Time Sce Developmental Milton by Change Sexual IntyYears sce first:Change Sexual Inty.
Consistently gay/lbian youths reported both a sexual orientatn and sexual behavrs that were more same-sex centered than peers who transed to a gay/lbian inty, and both of the groups of youths differed om peers who nsistently intified as bisexual. Furthermore, nsistently gay/lbian youths were volved more gay-related social activi, endorsed more posive attus toward homosexualy, and were more fortable wh other dividuals knowg about their 5Differenc Sexual Orientatn, Sexual Behavrs, and the Inty Integratn Procs by Change Sexual IntyChange Sexual Inty. Consistently gay/lbian youths also reported volvement more gay-related activi, more posive attus toward homosexualy, and more fort wh others knowg about their homosexualy than nsistently bisexual and transed 7Multivariate Comparisons of Sexual Orientatn, Sexual Behavrs, and the Inty Integratn Procs Among Sexual Inty Change GroupsChange Sexual Inty.
As hypothized, youths who transed were ls likely to report sex wh the other sex, their current sexual orientatn was more strongly centered on the same sex, and they were more fortable wh others knowg about their homosexualy. In general, youths who transed om a bisexual to a gay/lbian inty beme more like the nsistently gay/lbian and ls like the nsistently bisexual youths over the urse of the RevisedAlthough we found genr differenc among our three sexual inty groups, such a fdg do not addrs whether velopmental procs are siar among the genrs.
REVIEWSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIL ASPECTS OF GAY INTY VELOPMENT
Specifilly, our fdg that female youths were more likely than male youths to intify nsistently as gay/lbian and ls likely to trans between inti do not provi rmatn on whether the relatn between sexual inty and another variable differs by genr (i. The fdgs suggt that, although there were youths who nsistently self-intified as bisexual throughout the study, for other youths a bisexual inty served as a transnal inty to a subsequent gay/lbian the dividual level, we found three patterns of sexual inty over time: nsistently gay/lbian, transg om bisexual to gay/lbian, and nsistently bisexual.
This fdg of nsistency is siar to past rearch (Diamond, 2000: 70%), spe differenc between the two sampl on genr, ethnicy, recment se, and length of who changed sexual inti were hypothized to report experiencg psychosexual and socsexual ton of inty formatn more recently than youths whose sexual inty remaed nsistently gay/lbian. G., a fay wh strong anti-gay attus, experienc of ridicule, greater ternalized homophobia) may lay some youths om velopg a nsistent GLB inty or may lead some youths to adopt a bisexual inty before intifyg as gay/lbian.
THE PROCS OF NTEMPORARY GAY INTY VELOPMENT CHA: THE FLUENCE OF TER E
For the socsexual ton, however, we found that among the nsistently gay/lbian youths more time had passed sce they experienced socsexual ton than was the se among nsistently bisexual youths or youths who transed om a bisexual to gay/lbian inty. The differenc sexual orientatn and sexual behavr between nsistently gay/lbian youths and youths who transed to a gay/lbian inty suggt that, even after adoptg a gay/lbian inty, discrepanci between the new inty and subsequent sexual orientatn and behavr ntue to exist.
Th, acceptance, mment, and tegratn of a gay/lbian inty is an ongog velopmental procs that, for many youths, may extend through adolcence and hypothized, nsistently bisexual youths sred signifintly lower than nsistently gay/bisexual youths on most markers of inty tegratn. However, given that the youths the current sample were no more nsistent their sexual inty than lbian and bisexual youths reced om both gay- and non-gay venu (Diamond, 2000), we do not believe this to be a major limatn.