Comfort with LGB people and attitudes toward same-sex parenting in Continental American Hispanic Nations

Negative attitudes toward Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) individuals leads to a perceived inability of LGB individuals to foster 'appropriate' family relationships, inciting negative attitudes specifically toward same-sex parenting. Intergroup and interpersonal relationships play a critical role in fostering attitudes toward others wherein type of contact, frequency, degree of closeness in the relationship, and the positivity/negativity of interactions are potential mediator of these relations, Moreover, the mechanism behind co-constructing positive relationships with sexual and gender minorities is comfort with contact with LGB individuals. The present study explored the effects of interpersonal contact and the mediator role of comfort with LGB people in explaining attitudes toward same-sex parenting in Spanish-speaking countries in North, Central, and South America. These countries are of particular interest given the dearth of research in the region on attitudes toward same-sex parenting as well as the varying degrees of acceptance of and protections for same-sex parented families. A non-probabilistic sample of 1955 heterosexual cisgender participants from 14 countries was asked to complete a series of sociodemographic questions, a questionnaire about their interpersonal contact/comfort experiences with LGB people, and the Attitudes Toward Gay and Lesbian Parenting Scale. Results showed that comfort was vital in fostering accepting attitudes toward Same-Sex Parenting across countries. Findings also suggested that comfort with LGB people has a particularly powerful influence in regions with less legal and cultural acceptance of LGB individuals. Policies are not enough to instill widespread change: we must encourage, facilitate, and supervise the formation of relationships with LGB people.

Minority stress and mental health in gay and lesbian youth: A comparative study of Italy and Spain

The present study was carried out based on the minority stress model. The purpose was to compare Italian and Spanish gay and lesbian youth on minority stressors and mental health outcomes and test the minority stress model in Italy and Spain. The sample consisted of 490 participants (307 Italians, Mage = 25.30 and 183 Spanish, Mage = 27.57). They completed an online questionnaire measuring everyday discrimination, coming out to family members, coming out to friends/one's social network, internalized sexual stigma, depression, and anxiety. A multivariate analysis of covariance was performed to explore the effect of nationality on all measures. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the direct and indirect (through internalized sexual stigma) effects of stressors on mental health outcomes. The results demonstrate an impact of nationality on three dimensions: Spanish youth presented higher levels of everyday discrimination, while Italian youth had lower levels of both coming out to family members and coming out to friends/one's social network. Further, in both countries, all stressors had both direct and indirect (through internalized sexual stigma) associations with depression and anxiety. These findings have some social implications: studying the effect of nationality can be useful in suggesting changes in political and social macrosystems. Additionally, studying the associations among these variables is helpful for intervening more efficiently, for example, clinically, on the impact of minority stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Double Stigma in Portuguese Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Older Adults: A Study of Health Status

The double stigma-sexual stigma and ageism-can affect the health status of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) older adults, but little is known about this topic in Portugal and internationally. The aim of this study was to assess the health status and the prevalence of chronic diseases of Portuguese LGB older adults, as well as to assess the relationship between double stigma and health status. A sample of 280 Portuguese LGB older adults completed a chronic disease questionnaire, the Homosexuality-Related Stigma Scale, the Ambivalent Ageism Scale, and the SF-12 Short Form Health Survey. A structural equation model was performed using the double stigma variables as independent variables and health status as outcome. The mental health status of Portuguese LGB older adults was lower when compared to people from studies from more than 10 countries. Higher sexual self-stigma, sexual enacted stigma related to health care, and benevolent ageism significantly explained the worse general health status. The double stigma significantly affects the health status of these older adults in a profile of internalization of sexual stigma and benevolent age discrimination, and not necessarily by a hostile/aggressive profile. More research is needed on the double stigma.

Attitudes Toward Lesbians, Gay Men, and Their Rights in a Sample of Ecuadorian Cisgender Men and Women

Since 1997, Ecuador has undergone a series of changes to ensure family rights to sexual minorities. However, there is still limited research regarding attitudes toward them. This study focused on the attitudes toward lesbians (L), gay men (G), and their rights. A sample of 318 cisgender Ecuadorians who responded to an online survey was recruited. Analyses indicated that men, heterosexuals, who practice their religion, attend more frequently to religious services, and identify as conservative showed higher levels of prejudice against LG as well as less support toward their rights. Further, participants who did not have LG acquaintances, friends, family members, and those who did not know any LG parented family showed less support toward these populations. Multiple regression analyses indicated that believing that a person's sexual orientation is learned significantly predicted the attitudes measured in our study. Implications of these findings to help reduce prejudice against LG individuals are discussed.

Loneliness, ageism, and mental health: The buffering role of resilience in seniors

Introduction

Ageism and loneliness are two relevant public health phenomena because of their negative impact on the senior's mental health. With the increase in average life expectancy, these tend to co-occur, which may increase the psychological distress (PD) of seniors. Resilience has been shown to be an important protective factor of seniors mental health, although its potential buffering role of public health risk factors with cumulative impact on mental health, such as loneliness and ageism, needs to be more studied.

Aim

To assess the potential mediator role of resilience between the effects of ageism and loneliness on PD in seniors.

Methods

A sample of 349 Portuguese seniors aged 60 years and over was collected through an online survey and during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Seniors completed the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), the Short-Form of UCLA Loneliness Scale (USL-6), the Ambivalent Ageism Scale (AAS) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). A mediation analysis model was developed with resilience as a mediating variable.

Results

There were moderate to high levels of PD and moderate levels of ageism, loneliness and resilience. Resilience fully mediated the effect of ageism on PD and partially mediated the effect of loneliness on PD.

Conclusions

Resilience was an important protective factor of mental health against the effects of ageism, and partially protected mental health from the effects of loneliness among seniors. It is suggested that resilience be considered as a factor to be integrated in future intervention programs for mental health. The practical applicability of this study is discussed.

Are the children alright? A systematic review of psychological adjustment of children conceived by assisted reproductive technologies

The present systematic review aims to assess the psychological adjustment of children born through assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) and to screen for clinical problems when compared with normative data from the standardized indexes of mental health. Following PRISMA guidelines, the search was conducted from inception through September 2021 using APA PsycInfo, APA PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, Academic Search Complete, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, and RCAAP. Search terms related to ART and children's psychological adjustment were combined to Boolean operators to identify relevant published studies in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Peer-reviewed studies focused on the psychological adjustment of ART children aged between the 3 and 11 years were included. From a total of 337 results, 45 papers were eligible to be included in this review. Data extraction was performed independently by two authors and revised and confirmed by other two authors. All children scored below the clinical range for psychiatric symptoms when compared with normative data for the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) or the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA), regardless of type of ART and different family configurations. Further, some evidence suggests that surrogacy children with gay fathers present the lowest levels of psychological problems when compared to normative data. These findings enable practitioners to develop an informed view of ART children mental health outcomes to help parents find more adaptive strategies to navigate their chosen pathways in healthier ways.

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