Religious-Based Sexual Stigma and Psychological Health: Roles of Internalization, Religious Struggle, and...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Religious Studies

Background:

• Religious-based sexual stigma affects lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) individuals.
• Understanding mediators and moderators is crucial for LGB mental health.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine mediators (internalized heterosexism, religious struggle) and moderators (religiosity) of enacted religious-based sexual stigma.
• Investigate moderated mediation linking stigma experiences to psychological distress and wellbeing.
• Inform interventions for religiously affiliated LGB persons.

Main Methods:

• Online survey of 193 LGB individuals affiliated with a religion.
• Recruitment via Facebook ads and LGB-related listservs.
• Mediation and moderated mediation analyses.

Main Results:

• Religious-based sexual stigma indirectly increased psychological distress and decreased wellbeing through internalized heterosexism and religious struggle.
• The indirect effects were significant at moderate and high religiosity levels, but not low.
• Lower religiosity buffered stigma effects; higher religiosity intensified them.

Conclusions:

• Internalized heterosexism and religious struggle mediate the impact of enacted stigma on LGB mental health.
• Religiosity moderates these indirect effects, acting as a buffer at low levels and an intensifier at high levels.
• Interventions should address stigma and religiosity factors to improve psychological health in religiously identified LGB individuals.