Heterosexist microaggressions, student academic experience and perception of campus climate: Findings from an Italian higher education context

Perceptions of Anticipated Peer Support for Survivors of Sexual Violence Among Students with Minoritized Identities

Peers' attitudes toward survivors of sexual violence can impact their willingness to disclose. Students with minoritized identities may perceive and experience their campus environments as less supportive than peers with privileged identities. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of anticipated peer support for sexual violence survivors, using a cross-sectional study of 2,727 students. Linear regression modeling showed significant associations between students with minoritized identities and lower scores on perceptions of anticipated peer support for survivors. There were also several important interactions between specific overlapping student identities. The findings suggest that students with minoritized identities perceive anticipated peer support less favorably than those with privileged identities.

Latent syndemic profiles among sexual and gender minority college students and psychological distress amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) college students experience compounding psychological effects as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using latent profile analysis of cross-sectional data from a sample of SGM students (n=565) we tested for a syndemic of victimization, internalized LGBTQ+ stigma, racism, racialized heterosexism/cisgenderism, family rejection, and isolation associated with psychological distress. We also tested if increases in these factors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with greater psychological distress among syndemic profiles. We identified four profiles: "Lowest syndemic factors" (reference), "High isolation only," "High isolation and rejection only," and "High syndemic." The greatest distress was observed among the "High syndemic" profile (aPR=2.99, 95% CI 2.20, 4.06), followed by the "High isolation and rejection only" profile (aPR=2.11, 95% CI 1.61, 2.76), and the "High isolation only" profile (aPR=1.32, 95% CI 1.03, 1.70). Among the "High syndemic profile," increases in every factor since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with greater psychological distress. The strongest associations were seen among increased victimization (aPR=5.85, 95% CI 1.33, 25.71). Victimization, internalized LGBTQ+ stigma, racism, family rejection, and isolation form a syndemic among SGM students, which has magnified since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chilean University Teachers’ Social Representations and Attitudes about Students’ Sexual Diversity

This study seeks to explore social representations and attitudes of university teachers in relation to sexual diversity. The study has a qualitative approach through content analysis. The research was collected through 62 critical incidents with university professors, with at least one year of experience in undergraduate teaching, in five universities located in the northern macro zone of Chile. The results highlight that there are teachers who take on three different types of roles when faced with situations of gender diversity.. Some are in favour of the inclusion of the sexual minority community, others are more like external observers and a third group, with little interest in inclusion, practice for the students belonging to sexual minorities, within the diversity of the university classrooms. Many teachers tend to contain and compensate for the scarce support that sexually diverse young people have within their families. Teachers demand more training than they currently have in order to be able to carry out adequate interventions in the classroom. Finally, the number of feelings and emotions described by teachers in the face of events and experiences related to sexual diversity in their university institutions is highly significant.

Traditional Male Role Norms and Sexual Prejudice in Sport Organizations: A Focus on Italian Sport Directors and Coaches

Despite the common belief that sport is an excellent instrument to promote social inclusion, distal minority stressors, such as homophobic slurs and insulting or degrading comments, are frequently reported in sport contexts. The aim of this contribution was to expand previous knowledge on negative attitudes toward sexual minorities (gay and lesbian people) in sport-related contexts, by examining how staff employed in organizational sport contexts scored on three different dimensions of sexual prejudice toward sexual minority athletes: open rejection (i.e., blatant prejudice), denial of visibility (i.e., negative attitudes toward the coming out), and gendering performance (i.e., gender stereotypes about sport performance and skills). Furthermore, we examined the relationship between traditional norms of masculinity and dimensions of sexual prejudice. The sample consisted of 178 Italian sport directors and coaches who were asked to complete an online survey (70 women and 108 men, mostly aged from 38 to 65 years old). A repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that participants scored higher on denial of visibility, with respect to open rejection and gendering performance, independently of gender and sport role. The structural equation model showed that endorsing traditional male role norms was significantly associated with open rejection and gendering performance, whereas no significant association was found with denial of visibility. The findings provide further evidence that sexual prejudice is prevalent in sport organizations, supporting the importance of raising awareness among sports personnel about prejudiced beliefs that may lead minority people to experience severe stress-inducing situations.

Sexual Minority Status, Anxiety-Depression, and Academic Outcomes: The Role of Campus Climate Perceptions among Italian Higher Education Students

Students from sexual minorities generally describe Higher Education contexts as unwelcoming and chilly environments. Based on the Minority Stress theory, these disparities in climate perceptions may lead sexual minority students to negative health and academic outcomes. To date, research documenting the experience of sexual minority students within European Higher Education Institutions is limited. Framed within campus climate literature, the current study aimed to expand on previous knowledge by investigating the associations between sexual minority status, students’ perceptions of campus climate and psychological (i.e., anxiety–depression), and academic outcomes (i.e., intellectual and academic success and considering leaving the university) using a self-selected sample of 868 Italian university students (17.9% sexual minority students). The results showed that sexual minority status was associated with negative perceptions of campus climate, which, in turn, were associated with higher levels of anxiety–depression symptoms, lowered academic success, and a high probability of considering leaving university. Further research is needed to investigate the experience of sexual minority students within European Higher Education contexts and to explore possible actions that could contribute to fostering a greater sense of belonging to the campus community for all students, and particularly for students from sexual minority groups.