Internalized Homonegativity and the Challenges of Having Same-Sex Desires in the Lebanese Context: A Study Examining Risk and Protective Factors

Internalized homonegativity (IH) has received increased attention in the literature on sexual minorities. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on IH in conservative Arab cultures like Lebanon. The present study aimed to cover this gap by exploring risk and protective factors of IH in Lebanese sexual minorities. A hierarchical multiple regression (N = 210) revealed that religiosity, parental rejection (actual or anticipated), and legal discrimination were significant risk factors of IH, while sense of belonging to the LGBT community was a strong protective factor. Although self-compassion did not emerge as a predictor, it had interesting interactions on the bivariate level. Results, limitations, clinical implications, and recommendations for future research and policy making are discussed.

Correlates of disordered eating among gay men in Lebanon

The present cross-sectional design study examined six factors and their associations with disordered eating among 129 Lebanese men who identified themselves as gay. The factors under study were self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, positive minority identity, and a sense of connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Nongovernmental organizations that advocate for LGBT individuals assisted in the recruitment of participants. Data were analyzed through a hierarchical multiple regression, and age, education level, socioeconomic status, and religious affiliation were controlled for. The control variables alone explained 6% of the variance, and the six variables of interest within this study explained an additional 25% after being entered into the model. Self-objectification and shame-proneness were significantly, positively related to disordered eating among the participants in this study. In contrast to prior research, body dissatisfaction was not significantly associated with disordered eating in the present study. Results of this study indicate that self-objectification and shame-proneness might be important issues to consider in clinical work with gay Lebanese men exhibiting disordered eating symptomatology.