Sexuality and Religious Commitment Revisited: Exploring the Religious Commitments of Sexual Minorities, 1991–2014

Research on the religious commitments of sexual minorities has burgeoned over the last two decades, yet most studies come from small convenience samples of people actively engaged in religious groups. This study provides an empirical examination of the religiosity of people who report having had same‐sex relations in the last five years using respondents from the General Social Survey (1991–2014) and provides a comparison to respondents from 2008 to 2014 who report their sexual identification as bisexual, gay, or lesbian. All comparisons are made by gender, and compared with male and female heterosexuals. The relationship between behavioral sexuality and religiosity is examined across time periods, distinguishing respondents from 1991 to 2002 from respondents interviewed in 2004–2014. Religious factors examined include religious identification, religious participation, prayer frequency, beliefs about the Bible, beliefs about God, and belief in an afterlife. Multivariate models are estimated to examine whether sociodemographic factors contribute to differences across the gender/sexuality groups.     

African American Counselors‐in‐Training,the Black Church,and Lesbian‐, Gay‐, and Bisexual‐Affirmative Counseling: Considerations for Counselor Education Programs

This article examines the challenges that may be particular to African American counseling students who identify as Christian in learning to provide competent and affirming counseling to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. The role and importance of the Black Church, race survival consciousness, and cultural constructions of sexuality and mental health may present unique barriers for these students in affirming LGB clients. Recommendations for counselor education programs are discussed.     

Division of Labor Among Lesbian and Heterosexual Parenting Couples: Correlates of Specialized Versus Shared Patterns

One of the central tasks that couples face in coparenting is the division of labor. In this study, we explored division of family labor among lesbian and heterosexual couples who were parenting 4 to 6 year-old children. Sixty-six families, half headed by lesbian couples and half headed by heterosexual couples, participated in the study. Measures of parental attitudes, resources, demographics, and division of labor were collected. As expected, lesbian couples were more likely to divide paid and unpaid labor evenly, whereas heterosexual couples were more likely to show specialized patterns, with husbands investing more time in paid employment and wives devoting more time to unpaid family work. Structural variables (e.g., husband's hours in paid employment) were the best predictors of division of labor among heterosexual couples. Among lesbian couples, however, ideological variables (e.g., ideas about ideal divisions of labor) were the better predictors. Discrepancies in occupational prestige were greater among heterosexual than among lesbian couples. Discussion centers on the ways in which gender and sexual orientation may relate to couples' decisions about division of labor.     

Minority stress and health: Implications for lesbian,gay, bisexual,transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people

Historically, the pathologization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) orientations shaped research and professional practice, while the impact of stigma was not considered. Within a minority stress conceptualization however, stigma-related prejudice and discrimination experienced by LGBTQ people constitute chronically stressful events that can lead to negative health outcomes. Minority stress has been linked to psychological distress among gay men and lesbians and may contribute to elevated rates of distress frequently observed among LGBTQ youth. This study explored the impact of minority stress on psychological distress among LGBTQ youth in Ireland. Measures assessing three components of minority stress (sexual identity distress, stigma consciousness, and heterosexist experiences) were administered online to LGBTQ youth aged 16–24 years (N = 301). Each minority stressor had a significant independent association with distress. Stepwise regression analyses identified the linear combination of minority stressors as significantly predictive of distress [F(3,201) = 30.80, p ≤ 0.001]. Results suggest that the oppressive social environment created through sexual/transgender identity-related stigma negatively impacts on the well-being of LGBTQ youth. These findings have implications for health professionals and policy makers interested in the concerns of LGBTQ youth experiencing difficulties related to minority status and will facilitate the development and tailoring of interventions aimed at reaching those most at risk.     

The Coming-Out Process and Its Adaptational and Health-Related Associations Among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths: Stipulation and Exploration of a Model

A model is proposed and explored that links the coming-out process to the psychological functioning (i.e., self-esteem and distress) and sexual behaviors of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths recruited from gay-focused community-based and college organizations in New York City. The coming-out process is multidimensional, consisting, as defined here, of involvement in gay/lesbian activities, attitudes toward homosexuality, comfort with homosexuality, self-disclosure of sexual identity to others, and sexual identity. The coming-out dimensions were related to self-esteem, distress, and unprotected sexual behaviors. In addition, the relations between the coming-out dimensions and unprotected sexual behaviors were explained by psychological functioning. In particular, limited involvement in gay/lesbian activities was associated with more unprotected sex. Negative attitudes toward homosexuality were related directly to more unprotected sex, and they were related indirectly to more unprotected sex by means of increasing emotional distress. These and other findings have implications for designing preventive interventions to increase the youths' psychological functioning and reduce their unprotected sexual behaviors.     

Working on Gender as a Gender-Nonconformist

No abstract available for this article.     

Oppression and discrimination among lesbian,gay, bisexual,and Transgendered people and communities: a challenge for community psychology

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people continue to experience various forms of oppression and discrimination in North America and throughout the world, despite the social, legal, and political advances that have been launched in an attempt to grant LGBT people basic human rights. Even though LGBT people and communities have been actively engaged in community organizing and social action efforts since the early twentieth century, research on LGBT issues has been, for the most part, conspicuously absent within the very field of psychology that is explicitly focused on community research and action–Community Psychology. The psychological and social impact of oppression, rejection, discrimination, harassment, and violence on LGBT people is reviewed, and recent advances in the areas of LGBT health, public policy, and research are detailed. Recent advances within the field of Community Psychology with regard to LGBT research and action are highlighted, and a call to action is offered to integrate the knowledge and skills within LGBT communities with Community Psychology's models of intervention, prevention, and social change in order to build better theory and intervention for LGBT people and communities.     

Christian Counselors and Affirmative Counseling of Lesbian and Gay Clients

In this phenomenological study, we interviewed 12 counselors who identified as both religious and able to provide ethical and competent counseling to lesbian and gay clients. Participants discussed their lived experiences providing counseling. Our analysis revealed three primary themes: seeking congruence, responding to lesbian and gay clients, and cultivating competency. We discuss these findings and identify implications for counselor training and practice.     

THE BLACK SISTERHOOD

No abstract available for this article.     

A New Paradigm for Women's Sexual Orientation

Abstract

This paper critiques old models of women's sexual orientation that viewed heterosexuality as the norm for mental health, characterized lesbians as masculinized sexual “inverts,” and looked to biology to explain the development of homosexuality. A new paradigm for women's sexual orientation is presented. This paradigm emphasizes the importance of the social context and recognizes the multiple pathways that can lead a woman to identify as lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual. In addition, the main components of sexual orientation are considered as is the potential fluidity of women's sexuality. Throughout, implications of the new paradigm for psychotherapy with women are considered.