Elevated physical health risk among gay men who conceal their homosexual identity.

Cole, Steve W.; Kemeny, Margaret E.; Taylor, Shelley E.; Visscher, Barbara R.

doi:10.1037/0278-6133.15.4.243

Cited by 286 publications

(233 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

216

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Other work, in particular psychological research in the area of disclosure, has suggested that at least one more stress process is important: concealment of one's sexual orientation. Hiding of sexual orientation can be seen as a proximal stressor because its stress effect is thought to come about through internal psychological (including psychoneuroimmunological) processes (Cole, Kemeny, Taylor, & Visscher, 1996a, 1996bDiPlacido, 1998;Jourard, 1971;Pennebaker, 1995).Distal minority stressors can be defined as objective stressors in that they do not depend on an individual's perceptions or appraisals-although certainly their report depends on perception and attribution (Kobrynowicz & Branscombe, 1997;Operario & Fiske, 2001). As objective stressors, distal stressors can be seen as independent of personal identification with the assigned minority status (Diamond, 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence.

Meyer¹

2013

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

1,556

115

2,453

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article the author reviews research evidence on the prevalence of mental disorders in lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs) and shows, using meta-analyses, that LGBs have a higher prevalence of mental disorders than heterosexuals. The author offers a conceptual framework for understanding this excess in prevalence of disorder in terms of minority stress-explaining that stigma, prejudice, and discrimination create a hostile and stressful social environment that causes mental health problems. The model describes stress processes, including the experience of prejudice events, expectations of rejection, hiding and concealing, internalized homophobia, and ameliorative coping processes. This conceptual framework is the basis for the review of research evidence, suggestions for future research directions, and exploration of public policy implications.The study of mental health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations has been complicated by the debate on the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder during the 1960s and early 1970s. That debate posited a gay-affirmative perspective, which sought to declassify homosexuality, against a conservative perspective, which sought to retain the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder (Bayer, 1981). Although the debate on classification ended in 1973 with the removal of homosexuality from the second edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM;American Psychiatric Association, 1973), its heritage has lasted. This heritage has tainted discussion on mental health of lesbians and gay men by associating-even equating-claims that LGB people have higher prevalences of mental disorders than heterosexual people with the historical antigay stance and the stigmatization of LGB persons (Bailey, 1999).However, a fresh look at the issues should make it clear that whether LGB populations have higher prevalences of mental disorders is unrelated to the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder. A retrospective analysis would suggest that the attempt to find a scientific answer in that debate rested on flawed logic. The debated scientific question was, Is homosexuality a mental disorder? The operationalized research question that pervaded the debate was, Do homosexuals have high prevalences of mental disorders? But the research did not accurately operationalize the scientific question. The question of whether homosexuality should be considered a mental disorder is a question about classification. It can be answered by debating which behaviors, cognitions, or emotions should be considered indicators of a mental disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). To use postmodernist understanding of scientific knowledge, such a debate on classification concerns the social construction of mental disorder-what we as a society and as scientists agree are abnormal behaviors, cognitions, and emotions. The answer, therefore, depends on scientific and social consensus that evolves and is subject to the vicissitudes ...

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence.

Meyer¹

2013

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

1,556

115

2,453

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The difficulties of being single and wanting to play the field but having performance issues are contrasted to the feelings of letting one's partner down or having one's partner have to deal with the complications of cancer (or any health challenge) in their relationship. Finally, as we have detailed about GLBTQ aging persons, gay men are more likely to have difficulty dealing with the medical community of mainly heterosexually oriented urologists and oncologists (Cole, Kemeny, Taylor, & Visscher, 1996;Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, 2001;Silvestre, 2001). Many providers may indeed be biased, by prejudice or sheer lack of knowledge or attention.…”

Section: T O Blank Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging, Health, and GLBTQ Family and Community Life

Blank¹,

Asencio²,

Descartes

et al. 2009

Journal of GLBT Family Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Assim, se pensarmos que a não identificação identitária está intimamente ligada a factores de inibição psicológica, pode-se adivinhar uma relação entre a mesma e resultados de saúde física e psicológica, dos quais a progressão em relação ao VIH e a sintomatologia psicossomática são apenas alguns exemplos (S. W. Cole, M. E. Kemeny, S. E. Taylor & B. R. Visscher, 1996).…”

unclassified

A identidade (homo)sexual e os seus determinantes: Implicações para a saúde

Pereira

Leal

2012

Análise Psicológica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nos últimos anos, temos assistido a uma notória mudança no que diz respeito ao modo como se tem lidado com os assuntos relacionados com a população homossexual. Desde que a Associação Americana de Psiquiatria retirou a homossexualidade dos seus critérios de diagnóstico das doenças mentais em 1973, e desde que a maior parte dos governos ocidentais "despatologizou" as identidades gay, lésbica e bissexual, produzindo legislação protectora, que se criou uma nova legitimidade relativamente à expressão cultural destes indivíduos.No entanto, verifica-se uma grande décalage entre as mudanças legislativas e de enquadramento de saúde mental (que são positivas) e a legitimidade social, representada pelos estereótipos e discriminação que ainda são marcantes nas nossas sociedades.O entendimento dos processos de construção da Identidade Sexual traz consequências muito importantes na prática da Psicologia e das Ciên-cias da Saúde. De facto, há um conjunto de pedidos na prática clínica em que a falta de compreensão destes assuntos pode comprometer um apoio psicológico eficaz. Deste modo, importa explicar como se constrói a identidade homossexual e compreender os seus determinantes para tal não acontecer.A CONSTRUÇÃO DA IDENTIDADE (HOMO)SEXUAL O processo de construção da identidade é um processo de auto-classificação no qual o indiví-duo reconhece e aplica um rótulo (Mondimore, 1998). No entanto, a aprendizagem e a aplicação desse rótulo leva muitas vezes ao confronto com a negatividade. Por esta razão, a questão "sou homossexual?", é muitas vezes respondida com muita ansiedade, dado que a qualidade da resposta terá implicações directas em todos os aspectos da vida do indivíduo, incluindo a sua saúde.Existe muita especulação e diferentes pontos de vista relativamente ao modo como os indiví-duos que se identificam como homossexuais (gays ou lésbicas). Neste processo, o coming out 1 é um fenómeno central, pois envolve um conjunto de transformações intra e interpessoais que levam 315

show abstract

Elevated physical health risk among gay men who conceal their homosexual identity.

Cited by 286 publications

References 35 publications

Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence.

Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence.

Aging, Health, and GLBTQ Family and Community Life

A identidade (homo)sexual e os seus determinantes: Implicações para a saúde

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About