Minority Stress and Mental Health in Italian Bisexual People

Abstract

Bisexual people are a strongly stigmatized population experiencing health disparities caused by social stigmatization. The predominant framework helping to understand these health disparities and the impact of stigma on mental health of social groups belonging to a sexual minority identity constitutes the minority stress theory. In Italy, studies assessing this model in bisexual populations are very limited. Within this framework, the current study aimed at assessing in 381 Italian bisexual individuals (62 men and 319 women) the effects of anti-bisexual discrimination, proximal stressors (i.e., anticipated binegativity, internalized binegativity, and outness), and resilience on psychological distress. The results suggested that only anti-bisexual discrimination and internalized binegativity were positively associated with psychological distress, and that resilience was negatively associated with mental health issues. Furthermore, the results suggested that internalized binegativity mediated the relationship between anti-bisexual discrimination and mental health problems. No moderating effect of resilience was found. This is the first study to have thoroughly applied minority stress in Italian bisexual people, providing Italian clinicians and researchers with an outline of the associations between minority stress, stigma, resilience, and psychological distress within this population.

Minority stress, resilience, and health in Italian and Taiwanese LGB+ people: A cross-cultural comparison

“…Generally speaking, the Taiwanese and Italian cultures are significantly differentiated according to their respective collective versus individualistic attitudes. Although both cultures tend to stigmatize LGB+ people (Hu et al, 2019;Huang, Chan, & Cui, 2020a;Huang, Luo, et al, 2020b;Picariello et al, 2019;Scandurra et al, 2020), their attitudinal differences may influence how the MS experienced by LGB+ people affects their health. Indeed, individualistic and collective cultures predict different individual efforts to achieve societal approval: Individualistic cultures emphasize individual achievement and uniqueness while collective cultures emphasize social connectedness and harmony (Sattler & Lemke, 2019).…”

“…To this end, although the Italian society seems increasingly accepting of LGB+ individuals (Lingiardi et al, 2016), many recent Italian studies have detected moderate levels of discrimination against this population (Baiocco & Pistella, 2019;Petrocchi et al, 2020;Picariello, Scandurra, Schwartz, & Amodeo, 2019;Scandurra et al, 2020). In Italy, LGB people still face heterosexism in several contexts, such as school, sports, and family: No current legislation to protect people from homophobic harassment and discrimination, and there is little or no visibility of LGB+ people and relationships in many institutions (Baiocco & Pistella, 2019).…”

Coming Out to Parents in Lesbian and Bisexual Women: The Role of Internalized Sexual Stigma and Positive LB Identity

“…Clinicians should be aware that bisexual women may face additional prejudice and suffer from higher levels of ISS, relative to lesbian women; however, it is important that clinicians focus on strengthening and promoting a positive LB identification in both LB women. In most clinical settings, psychotherapists working with LB clients aim at reducing ISS and helping clients to alleviate the negative effect that minority stress can have on CO process, working on negative emotions associated with stigmatizing experiences and developing a positive self-image ( Scandurra et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Within this framework, it is conceivable that young people with a high level of ISS are less likely to CO ( Durso and Meyer, 2013 ). It is important to note that recent studies have found that minority stress causes more psychological distress for LB women, relative to other sexual minorities, suggesting that there is a need for more in-depth research into minority stress among these populations ( Prell and Traeen, 2018 ; Scandurra et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Within the theoretical framework of the minority stress model ( Meyer, 1995 , 2003 ), and driven by the need for more research on LB women ( Pistella et al, 2016 ; Prell and Traeen, 2018 ; Scandurra et al, 2020 ), the present research had three main objectives: (a) to provide descriptive data on CO to parents in a sample of LB women, including the age of first disclosure to mothers and fathers and the quality of the parental reactions; (b) to examine the role of certain sociodemographic variables (i.e., age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education level, political orientation, religiosity and religious education, presence of a stable relationship, family size) in CO to parents; and (c) to explore the relationship between CO to parents, ISS, positive LB identity, and sexual orientation.…”