Healing through community connection? Modeling links between attachment avoidance, connectedness to the LGBTQ+...

Sexual minorities high in attachment avoidance (i.e., discomfort with closeness) and attachment anxiety (i.e., fear of abandonment) tend to report greater internalized heterosexism. Yet, the causes of this link have not been fully explored. Some propose that insecure attachment schemas may make it difficult to form the types of social connections that can help alleviate internalized stigma (and vice versa: internalized heterosexism might make one avoid the types of relationships that would foster secure attachment). This study used structural equation modeling to test whether reduced connection to the LGBTQ+ community could help explain the link between insecure attachment and internalized heterosexism. Study 1 (n = 480) explored links between attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, community connectedness and internalized heterosexism. Higher avoidance predicted lower connection which, in turn, predicted higher internalized heterosexism. Attachment avoidance's association with internalized heterosexism was fully explained by an indirect effect through connectedness. Conversely, attachment anxiety did not predict connectedness or internalized heterosexism. Study 2 (n = 447) replicated these findings. These results suggest low connectedness might help explain the association between attachment insecurity and internalized heterosexism, though this path might be specific to attachment avoidance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).