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Skoojal (talk | contribs)
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deleting a large part of the article that overlaps to an unnecessary degree with the Conversion therapy article - this article shouldn't be Conversion therapy mark II
Skoojal (talk | contribs)
8,660 edits
this is more accurate; sources of course will have to be added, but pathological models were in fact standard throughout most of the 20th century, not just the early part
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{{sexual orientation}}
{{sexual orientation}}
'''Psychology''' was one of the first disciplines to study '''homosexuality''' as a discrete phenomenon. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pathological models of [[homosexuality]] were standard. [[psychology|Psychologists]] later began responding to the needs of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people including, most visibly, responses to the [[AIDS pandemic]] of the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name="intro">ed. Sandfort, T; et al. Lesbian and Gay Studies: An Introductory, Interdisciplinary Approach. Chapter 2.</ref>
'''Psychology''' was one of the first disciplines to study '''homosexuality''' as a discrete phenomenon. In the late 19th and throughout most of the 20th centuries, pathological models of [[homosexuality]] were standard. [[psychology|Psychologists]] later began responding to the needs of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people including, most visibly, responses to the [[AIDS pandemic]] of the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name="intro">ed. Sandfort, T; et al. Lesbian and Gay Studies: An Introductory, Interdisciplinary Approach. Chapter 2.</ref>


Major psychological research on homosexuality, which has been carried out predominantly in America, can be divided into five categories:<ref name="intro"/>
Major psychological research on homosexuality, which has been carried out predominantly in America, can be divided into five categories:<ref name="intro"/>

Revision as of 22:45, 31 August 2008

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Psychology was one of the first disciplines to study homosexuality as a discrete phenomenon. In the late 19th and throughout most of the 20th centuries, pathological models of homosexuality were standard. Psychologists later began responding to the needs of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people including, most visibly, responses to the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s and 1990s.[1]

Major psychological research on homosexuality, which has been carried out predominantly in America, can be divided into five categories:[1]

  1. Why some people are gay or lesbian (Which factors determine that people have same-sex desires?)
  2. Anti-gay attitudes and behaviors (What are the causes of discriminatory behavior regarding gays and lesbians and how can this be influenced?)
  3. Psychological functioning (Does being gay or lesbian affect one's health status, psychological functioning or general well-being?)
  4. Coming out as, and being, gay or lesbian (What determines successful adaptation to a rejecting social climate in gays and lesbians? Why do some gays and lesbians experience homosexuality as central to their identity, while others experience it as peripheral? Why do some gay men develop more effeminate behavior than others? Etc.)
  5. Sexuality, intimate relationships, and parenting (How do children of lesbian and gay parents develop? What determines the attitude of gays and lesbians towards other (sexual) minorities? Etc.)

Psychological research in these areas has been relevant to counteracting prejudicial ("homophobic") attitudes and actions, and to the LGBT rights movement generally.[1]

Major areas of psychological research

Anti-gay attitudes and behaviors

See also: Homophobia and Societal attitudes toward homosexuality

Anti-gay attitudes and behaviors (sometimes called homophobia or heterosexism) have themselves been the object of psychological research, usually focusing on anti-gay-male, not anti-lesbian, attitudes.[1]

  • Demographics: Anti-gay attitudes often found in people who do not know gay people on a personal basis.[2]

Psychological functioning

Psychological research in this area includes examining mental health issues (including stress, depression, or addictive behavior) faced by gay and lesbian people as a result of the difficulties they experience because of their sexual orientation, physical appearance issues and eating disorders, and gender atypical behavior.

  • Drug and alcohol use: Gay men are not at a higher risk for drug or alcohol abuse than heterosexual men, but lesbian women may be at a higher risk than heterosexual women. This finding is contrary to a common assumption that, because of the issues people face relating to coming out and anti-gay attitudes, drug and alcohol use is higher among lesbian, gay, and bisexual people than heterosexuals.[3] Several clinical reports address methods of treating alcoholism in lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients specifically, including fostering greater acceptance of the client's sexual orientation.[1][4]
  • Suicide: Gay and bisexual male youths are over 13 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual male youths.[5] No such difference was found between lesbian and straight female youths.[6] Gay and lesbian youth who attempt suicide are disproportionately subject to anti-gay attitudes, and have weaker skills for coping with discrimination, isolation, and loneliness, than those who do not attempt suicide.[1][7]
  • Psychiatric disorders: In a Dutch study, gay men reported significantly higher mood and anxiety disorders than straight men, and lesbians were significantly more likely to experience depression (but not other mood or anxiety disorders) than straight women.<;ref>Sandfort, et al. (1999)</ref> Although this difference is probably caused by the stresses gay and lesbian people face stemming from anti-gay attitudes,[1]
  • Physical appearance and eating disorders: Gay men tend to be more concerned about their physical appearance than straight men.[8] Lesbian women are at a lower risk for eating disorders than heterosexual women.[9]
  • Gender atypical behavior: Gay men are more likely to display gender atypical behavior than heterosexual men.[10] The difference is less pronounced between lesbians and straight women.[11]

Coming out as, and being openly gay or lesbian

Psychological research in this area includes examining the coming out process, special challenges facing lesbian and gay youth, parental attitudes toward their children's sexual orientation, the mental health effects of being openly gay or closeted, workplace issues, discrimination and violence against lesbian and gay people, and aging issues.

  • Coming out: Many gay and lesbian people go through a "coming out" experience at some point in their lives. Psychologists often say this process includes several stages "in which there is an awareness of being different from peers ('sensitization'), and in which people start to question their sexual identity ('identity confusion'). Subsequently, they start to explore practically the option of being gay or lesbian and learn to deal with the stigma ('identity assumption'). In the final stage, they integrate their sexual desires into a position understanding of self ('commitment')."[1] However, the process is not always linear[12] and it may differ for lesbians and gay men.[13]
  • Different degrees of coming out: One study found that gay men are more likely to be out to friends and siblings than co-workers, parents, and more distant relatives.[14]
  • Effects of coming out on the person's well-being: Various studies have found that being out improves one's well-being, that openly gay people have less anxiety and better self esteem and social support than closeted people,[15] and that openly gay people are more satisfied in their relationships.[16] This is attributed to the "negative health consequences of psychological inhibition" found in closeted people.[1]
  • Effects of "traditional values" on the coming out process: One study found that "families with a strong emphasis on traditional values - implying the importance of religion, an emphasis on marriage and having children - were less accepting of homosexuality than were low-tradition families."[17]
  • Determinants of parental attitudes toward homosexuality: One study found that parents who respond negatively to their child's sexual orientation tended to have lower self-esteem and negative attitudes toward women, and that "negative feelings about homosexuality in parents decreased the longer they were aware of their child's homosexuality."[18]
  • Violence against LGBT people ("hate crimes"): One study found that nearly half of its sample had been the victim of verbal or physical violence because of their sexual orientation, usually committed by men. Such victimization is related to higher levels of depression, anxiety, anger, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress.[19]

Sexuality, intimate relationships, and parenting

Psychological research in this area includes examining the sexual behavior of gay and lesbian people (both for its own sake and from a public health perspective), the relative contributions of gender and sexual orientation in determining sexuality and sexual attitudes, same-sex relationships, domestic violence within same-sex relationships, relationship satisfaction, and the impact (if any) on children growing up with same-sex parents.

  • Sexuality: Contemporary psychology views gender, not sexual orientation, as the primary determinant of sexuality. Thus, gay male relationships are more frequently "open" than heterosexual relationships because the individuals are men, not because they are gay. Likewise, lesbian couples have sex less often than heterosexual couples, "although they seem to be more satisfied with their sex lives."[1]
  • Attitudes toward sex: One study found that gay and lesbian people "had a better sexual self-understanding, and showed less guilt regarding masturbation and sexuality in general" than straight people.[20][1]
  • Non-consensual sex: One study found that among sexually active gay men, over 27% of them had experienced non-consensual sex at least once.[21]

Standard critiques of current research methodology

There are several standard critiques of the much recent research methodology. First, the research samples of gay men are often white, well-educated, upper-middle-class, self-identified gay men, usually drawn from media publications, organizations, and meeting places. Excluding people of color and low-income gay men from the samples may skew the data, and may reinforce existing stereotypes. A barrier to resolving this problem is the increased cost of gathering more representative samples.[1] A second typical critique is that because cultural and historical context significantly influence the expression of homosexuality, gay and lesbian people should not necessarily be studied in unqualified terms: "gay men in the Netherlands [may have less] in common with gay men in the US than with heterosexual men in the Netherlands."[1]

Psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients

Most lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who seek psychotherapy do so for the same reasons as heterosexuals (stress, relationship difficulties, difficulty adjusting to social or work situations, etc.); their sexual orientation may be of primary, incidental, or no importance to their issues and treatment. Whatever the issue, there is a high risk for anti-gay bias in psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients.[22]

Gay clients of color

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m ed. Sandfort, T; et al. Lesbian and Gay Studies: An Introductory, Interdisciplinary Approach. Chapter 2.
  2. ^ National Affirmation Annual Conference: "Homosexuality: A Psychiatrist's Response to LDS Social Services", September 5, 1999
  3. ^ Bux (1996)
  4. ^ Hall 1994, Israelstam 1986
  5. ^ Bagley and Tremblay (1997)
  6. ^ Remafedi, et al. (1998)
  7. ^ Rotheram-Boris, et al. (1994); Proctor and Groze (1994)
  8. ^ Brand, et al. (1992).
  9. ^ Siever (1994).
  10. ^ Hiatt and Hargrave (1994).
  11. ^ Finlay and Scheltema (1991)
  12. ^ Rust (1993)
  13. ^ Monteflores and Schultz (1978).
  14. ^ Berger (1992)
  15. ^ Jordan and Deluty (1998)
  16. ^ Berger (1990)
  17. ^ Newman and Muzzonigro (1993)
  18. ^ Holtzen and Agresti (1990).
  19. ^ Herek, et al. (1997)
  20. ^ Crowden and Koch (1995)
  21. ^ Hickson, et al. (1994).
  22. ^ Cabaj, R; Stein, T. eds. Textbook of Homosexuality and Mental Health, p. 421
American Psychological Association
American Academy of Pediatrics
National Mental Health Association
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