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Article Excerpt
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between heterosexist events, internalized homophobia, and substance use and abuse among 824 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. Participants completed the Schedule for Heterosexist Events (SHE), Internalized Homophobia Scale (IHP), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST). A MANCOVA with age as a covariate and sexual orientation as a cofactor indicated there were significant differences in how lesbians, gay males, and bisexuals experienced heterosexism and internalized homophobia. In particular, gay males and lesbians reported experiencing more heterosexism than bisexuals, and gay males and bisexuals reported experiencing more internalized homophobia than lesbians. Participants who were classified as having at least one alcohol or drug use disorder were significantly more likely to have experienced heterosexism and internalized homophobia than those who were not classified as having a substance use disorder. Implications for mental health counselors, counselor educators, and researchers are noted.
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Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals have faced great societal prohibitions and prejudices based on the expression of their same-gender sexual feelings and behaviors (Stein & Cabaj, 1996). Considered an at-risk group, they are exposed to various forms of discrimination that place them at an increased risk for suicide, dropping out of school, verbal and physical abuse by family or peers, homelessness, HIV/AIDS, psychological distress, and substance use and abuse (Grossman, 1997). These risk factors threaten the well-being and overall quality of life of many LGB persons.
As a result of being sexual minorities in a predominately anti-gay society, LGB individuals experience physical and emotional stress, a phenomenon that DiPlacido (1998) referred to as minority stress. Homophobia and heterosexism are central constructs in the stress experienced by LGB individuals. Homophobia is defined as the anxiety, aversion, and discomfort that some individuals experience in response to being around, or thinking about, LGB behaviors or people (Davies, 1996). Heterosexism resembles racism or sexism and denies, ignores, and disparages nonheterosexual forms of emotional and sexual expression (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment [CSAT], 2001). Both constructs are found on individual and societal levels, endorsed through the perpetuation of negative myths and stereotypes about people who are LGB, and lead to the discrimination and prejudice of LGB people across the lifespan (Bobbe, 2002; Smiley, 1997). It is important to note that bisexual people may experience additional minority stress complicated by marginality from both the straight and gay communities. This marginalization usually includes same-gender oriented friends urging them to adopt a gay lifestyle and heterosexually oriented friends pressuring them to conform to heterosexual standards (Smiley).
Homophobia and heterosexism have serious implications for LGB individuals as they lead to subtle forms of discrimination (e.g., the exclusion of LGB couples in the media) and blatant acts of alienation and discrimination (e.g., individuals refusing to rent to LGB people; Neisen, 1990). Other examples of heterosexist events include unfair treatment by family, friends, and peers; loss of employment or lack of promotions; and observing/hearing people make heterosexist jokes (Selvidge, 2000). As a result of these experiences, many LGB individuals hide their sexual orientation from others, and feel shame and other negative feelings towards themselves (CSAT, 2001). The phenomenon of internalizing anti-gay attitudes and experiencing negative views of self is referred to as internalized homophobia. Low self-esteem and low self-acceptance, shame, guilt, feelings of inadequacy and rejection, depression, anxiety, and substance use and abuse are some of the common feelings or behaviors that are associated with internalized homophobia (Grossman, 1997; Ross & Rosser, 1996; Stein & Cabaj, 1996).
Because homophobia and heterosexism promote the superiority of heterosexuality, the development of a sexual minority identity has been historically discredited. More recently, however, it has been investigated as a rich form of diversity in sexual orientation. This is evident by the de-classification of same-gender sexual orientation as a psychiatric disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973. An increased emphasis on the unique developmental experiences of LGB individuals can be found in the more recent professional literature (Cass, 1979; Herek, 1996; McCarn & Fassinger, 1996; Meyer, 1995).
A major model of sexual minority identity development for lesbians was proposed by McCarn and Fassinger (1996) and later adapted for gay men by Fassinger and Miller (1996). This model informed the present study and provided a framework for understanding the developmental experiences of lesbians and gay men by taking into consideration the complex process of sexual identity exploration and the influences of societal homophobia and heterosexism on the development of a lesbian or gay male identity. This model does not specifically address bisexual individuals; in fact, the development of a bisexual identity remains under-explored. However, Cabaj (1997) posited that the experiences of bisexual individuals, particularly if they identify strongly with their same-gender attraction, are similar to the experiences of lesbians and gay men. Therefore, bisexual identity development is often explained according to lesbian and gay male identity development (Smiley, 1997).
SEXUAL MINORITY IDENTITY FORMATION
In their Model of Sexual Minority Identity Formation, McCarn and Fassinger (1996) explored sexual minority identity development at both the individual and group membership level, which occur parallel to each other but not necessarily at the same time. This model included the word phase in place of stage, allowing for more flexibility to move in a "continuous and circular" manner through one's identity development (McCarn & Fassinger, 1996, p. 522). This notion supports Gonsiorek's (1995) proposition that the process of identity development is "unpredictable, with stops, starts, and back-tracking" (p. 31). In general, the authors of the model proposed that the sexual minority identity formation process begins when lesbians and gay men feel attraction for the same gender in ways that they do not understand (Awareness), shifts to a time of exploration and curiosity that involve feelings of fear, sadness, or excitement (Exploration), moves to increased personal involvement with the lesbian or gay community and increased awareness of oppression (Deepening/Commitment), and leads to feelings of comfort with and self-acceptance of one's same-gender sexual orientation (Internalization/Synthesis). Table 1 provides a brief description of McCarn and Fassinger's four-phase Model of Sexual Minority Identity Formation at both the individual and group membership level.
According to McCarn and Fassinger (1996), the sequence of development of a sexual minority identity and the intensity or difficulty involved is influenced by the degree to which heterosexism and homophobia has affected the individual. This can occur during any of the phases of development as an LGB individual questions sources of learning about sexual orientation (i.e., family, church, school), challenges views that support heterosexuality as a superior sexual orientation, or encounters prejudice and discrimination. These experiences lead to mixed feelings including but not limited to anger, sadness, confusion, and excitement. An LGB individual may experience internalized homophobia and subsequent distress in response to the discrepancy between one's attraction to the same gender and how society negatively views such same-gender attraction. Several studies have supported this notion.
Rowen and Malcolm (2002), for example, examined internalized homophobia and its relationship to homosexual identity formation, self-esteem, and self-concept among 86 gay men. In the results of their study, the authors indicated that there was a significant relationship between higher levels of internalized homophobia and less developed gay male identities. A qualitative study by Lock (1998) illustrated the impact of homophobia on the sexual minority identity development of a gay male as he moved through early, middle, and late adolescence. The author identified early sexual experimentation,...
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