Homophobia. Origins, consequences and prevention. A review of the literature

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Alessandra Salerno, Monica Tosto, Giuseppe Scozzari
Publishing Year 2019 Issue 2019/2
Language Italian Pages 23 P. 5-27 File size 325 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2019-002001
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Today particular focus is given to discrimination against sexual minorities both within the specific field of psychological health as well as within a broader social context. In addition to scientific and ethical considerations regarding the characteristics of sexual diversity, incidents of discrimination and homophobia are on the rise, highlighting their causes and consequences. This article aims to carry out an analysis on homophobia through a review on current liter-ature concerning the circumstances and personality traits of homophobic people as well as their health conditions related to homophobic and heterosexism phenomena. From the review carried out it is possible to hypothize how homophobic behaviour can conceal a deeper suffering that the individual is unable to otherwise express and how, there-fore, a more detailed analysis on the matter is urgently needed and how it is essential to en-courage initiatives that may act on the establishment of intolerant and discriminatory behav-iour.

Keywords: Homophobia, internalized homophobia, homophobia + psychological aspects, homophobia + mental health

  1. Ciocca G., Tuziak B., Limoncin E., Mollaioli D., Capuano N., Martini A., Carosa E., Fisher A.D., Maggi M., Niolu C., Siracusano A., Lenzi A. and Jannini E.A., (2015). Psychoticism, Immature Defense Mechanisms and a Fearful Attachment Style are Associated with a Higher Homophobic Attitude. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 12 (9): 1953-1960.
  2. Craig S.L. and Austin A. (2016). The AFFIRM open pilot feasibility study: A brief affirmative cognitive behavioral coping skills group intervention for sexual and gender minority youth. Children and Youth Service Review, 64: 136-114.
  3. Dahl A.L. and Galliher R.V. (2012). LGBTQ adolescents and young adults raised within a Christian religious context: Positive and negative outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 35 (6): 1611-1618.
  4. Eldahan A.I., Pachinkis J.A., Rendina H.J., Ventuneac A., Grov C. and Parson J.T. (2016). Daily Minority Stress and Affect among Gay and Bisexual Men: A 30-day Diary Study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 190: 828-835.
  5. Falomir-Pichastor J.M. and Mugny G. (2009). I’m not gay… I’m a real man!: Heterosexual Men’s gender self-esteem and sexual prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35: 1233-1243. DOI: 10.1177/0146167209338072
  6. Fox K. R., Hooley J. M., Smith D.M.Y. Ribeiro J.D., Huang X., Nock M.K. and Franklin J.C. (2018). Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors May Be More Common and Severe Among People Identifying as a Sexual Minority. Behavior Therapy, 49: 768-780.
  7. Frost D.M. and Meyer I.H. (2009). Internalized Homophobia and Relationship Quality among Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56: 97-109.
  8. Goldbach J.T. and Gibbs J.J. (2017). A developmentally informed adaptation of minority stress for sexual minority adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 55: 36-50.
  9. Kaysen D.L., Kulesza M., Balsam K.F., Rhew I.C., Blayney J.A., Lehavot K. and Hughes T.L. (2014). Coping as a mediator of internalized homophobia and psychological distress among young adult sexual minority women. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 1: 225-233.
  10. Konishi C., Saewyc E., Homma Y. and Poon C. (2013). Population-level evaluation of school-based interventions to prevent problem substance use among gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents in Canada. Preventive Medicine, 57: 929-933.
  11. Lewis A.J. and White J. (2009). Brief report: The defense mechanisms of homophobic adolescent males: A descriptive discriminant analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 32: 435-441.
  12. Lingiardi V. (2007). Citizen gay. Famiglie, diritti negati e salute mentale. Milano: Il Saggiatore.
  13. Lingiardi V., Nardelli N., Ioverno S., Falanga S., Di Chiacchio C., Tanzilli A. and Baiocco R. (2016). Homonegativity in Italy: Cultural issues, personality characteristics and demographic correlates with negative attitudes towards lesbians and gay men. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 13: 95-108.
  14. Logie C.H., Newman P.A., Chakrapani V. and Shunmugam M. (2012). Adapting the minority stress model: Associations between gender non-conformity stigma, HIV-related stigma and depression among men who have sex with men in South India. Social Science & Medicine, 74: 1261-1268.
  15. Marsh T. and Brown J. (2011). Homonegativity and its Relationship to Religiosity, Nationalism and Attachment Style. Journal of Religion and Health, 50: 575-591
  16. McDermott R.C., Schwartz J.P., Lindley L.D. and Proietti J.S. (2014). Exploring men’s homophobia: Associations with religious fundamentalism and gender role conflict domains. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15: 191-200.
  17. Meyer I.H. (2003). Prejudice, Social Stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129: 674-697. DOI: 10.2307/2137286
  18. Michaels M.S., Parent M.C. and Torrey C.L. (2016). A Minority Stress Model for Suicidal Ideation in Gay Men. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 46: 23-34.
  19. Miller A.K., Wagner M.M. and Hunt A.N. (2012). Parsimony in Personality: Predicting Sexual Prejudice. Journal of Homosexuality, 59: 201-214. DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2012.638550
  20. Newcomb M.E. and Mutanksi B. (2010). Internalized homophobia and internalizing mental health problems: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30 (8): 1019-1029.
  21. Nguyen T.Q. and Blum R.W. (2014) Homosexuality Tolerance Among Male and Female Vietnamese Youth: An Examination of Traditional Sexual Values, Self-Esteem, and Demographic/Contextual Characteristics. Journal of Adolescence Health, 55: 823-829.
  22. Rigliano P., Ciliberto J. e Ferrari F. (2012). Curare i gay? Oltre l’ideologia riparativa dell’omosessualità. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  23. Salerno A. e Tiralongo V. (2018). Il bullismo omofobico. Caratteristiche, conseguenze e tipologie di intervento. Psicologia Clinica dello Sviluppo, 2: 209-240. DOI: 10.1449/90829
  24. Valenti M., Campetti R., Schoenborn N., Quinlan K. and Dash K. (2017). Building evaluation capacity of local substance abuse prevention programs serving LGBQ populations. Evaluation and Program Planning, 63: 101-108.
  25. Weber G. (2008). Using to Numb the Pain: Substance Use and Abuse Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 30: 31-48.
  26. Welzer-Lang D. (1994). L’homophobie: la face cachée du masculine. In Welzer-Lang D., Dutey P. and Dorais M., editors, La peur de l’autre en soi. Du sexisme à l’homophobie. Montréal: VLB Éditeur, pp. 13-91.
  27. Ahmad S. and Bhugra D. (2010). Homophobia: an updated review of the literature. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 25: 447-455. DOI: 10.1080/14681994.2010.515206
  28. American Psychological Association (2012). Guidelines for psychological practice with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients. -- Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/guidelines.aspx.
  29. Baams L., Bos H.M.W. and Jonas J.K. (2014) How a romantic relationship can protect same-sex attracted youth and young adults from the impact of expected rejection. Journal of Adolescence, 37: 1293-1302.
  30. Baams L., Semon-Dubas J., Russell S.T., Buikema R.L. and Van Aken M.A.G. (2018). Minority stress, perceived burdensomeness, and depressive symptoms among sexual minority youth. Journal of Adolescence, 66: 9-18.
  31. Baiocco R., D’Alessio and Laghi F. M. (2010) Binge drinking among gay, and lesbian youths: The role of internalized homophobia, self-disclosure, and connectedness to the gay community. Addictive Behaviors, 35: 896-899.
  32. Bartos S.E., Berger I. and Hegarty P. (2014). Interventions to reduce sexual prejudice: A study-space analysis and meta-analytic review. The Journal of Sex Research, 54: 363-382. DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2013.871625
  33. Bayer V., McComb J.J., Clopton J.R. and Reich D.A. (2017). Investigating the influence of shame, depression, and distress tolerance on the relationship between internalized homophobia and binge eating in lesbian and bisexual women. Eating Disorder, 24: 39-44.
  34. Borrillo D. (2001). L’homophobie. Paris: PUF.
  35. Bozon M. (2013). Sociologie de la sexualité. Domaines et approches. Paris: Armand Colin.
  36. Cheval B., Grob E., Chanal J., Ghisletta P., Bianchi-Demicheli F. and Radel R. (2016). Homophobia Is Related to a Low Interest in Sexuality in General: An Analysis of Pupillometric Evoked Responses. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 13: 1539-1545.
  37. Cheval B., Radel R., Grob E., Ghisletta P., Bianchi-Demicheli F. and Chanal J. (2016). Homophobia: An Impulsive Attraction to the Same Sex? Evidence From Eye-Tracking Data in a Picture-Viewing Task. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 13: 825-834.

Alessandra Salerno, Monica Tosto, Giuseppe Scozzari, Omofobia. Origine, conseguenze e prevenzione. Una rassegna della letteratura in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 2/2019, pp 5-27, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2019-002001