Theses and Dissertations from UMD

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

Browse

Filters

2006 - 200912010 - 20201

Settings

Subject: search.filters.subject.Heterosexism

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Daily Heterosexism Experiences and Well-Being among LGB People: The Moderating Role of Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and LGB-Affirmative Support
    (2020) Chong, Siu Kwan; Mohr, Jonathan J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Research has shown that perceived discrimination, including heterosexism, is linked to poorer mental and physical health across a variety of stigmatized populations. Given the deleterious effect of discrimination on health, scholars have called attention to resilience research and the importance of understanding factors that can protect lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people from the adverse effect. To date, most research on LGB people’s resilience relied on retrospective reports of heterosexism experiences. This limits the understanding about resilience factors that help LGB people effectively cope with discrimination as it occurs on a day-to-day basis. The present study addressed this gap by using an experience sampling design to test whether internal resources (mindfulness, self-compassion) and external resources (LGB-affirmative social support) reduce the impact of daily heterosexism experience on affective and somatic well-being. A sample of 254 LGB adults completed a baseline survey that assessed resilience factors, as well as brief online surveys twice daily for 14 days that assessed heterosexism experiences and well-being, providing a total of 3,346 days of data. As anticipated, results of multilevel modeling showed that heterosexism experiences were positively related to negative affect and somatic symptoms both at the daily and person levels. Inconsistent with my hypotheses, mindfulness, self-compassion, and LGB affirmative support did not moderate the within-person associations between daily heterosexism experience and daily well-being. These factors also did not moderate the between-person association between mean heterosexism and health. They were, however, positively linked with affective well-being regardless of heterosexism experiences. These findings provide insights for practitioners to support LGB clients to thrive.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Heterosexual Parents' Gender Role Attitudes, Religious Orientation, Heterosexist Beliefs, Support Group Experiences, and Relationship Functioning with their Lesbian or Gay Children
    (2006-08-02) Gallor, Susanna Maria; Fassinger, Ruth; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this study was to explore how support group experiences are related to parents' attitudes and relationships with their lesbian, gay, or bisexual children in an effort to understand the development of positive attitudes and relationships and what experiences might facilitate this process. This study assessed the interrelationships among parental attitudes (including gender role attitudes, religious orientation, and heterosexist beliefs), parent-child and family relationships (including current family and parent-child relationship functioning, and changes in relationship functioning following disclosure or participation in a support group), and parents' experiences with psychoeducation and social support (including overall involvement in a support group as well as involvement in support, education, and advocacy activities). Participants were contacted through chapters of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). The final sample consisted of 167 individuals, 110 females and 52 males, who identified as heterosexual parents of one or more same-sex oriented children. Some key findings suggested that greater parental endorsement of heterosexist attitudes was associated with less positive views of their current parent-child relationship functioning and fewer reports of positive changes in their relationships with their children since their child's disclosure of her/his same-sex orientation. Results further indicated that the more participants were involved in PFLAG overall as well as in its support, education, and advocacy activities, the less they endorsed heterosexist attitudes. Regression results indicated that parents with higher levels of PFLAG involvement, especially involvement in advocacy, were least likely to endorse heterosexist attitudes. Also, the more parents were involved overall, and the more they were involved in support, education, and especially advocacy, the more they perceived positive changes in their relationships with their children since disclosure. The results of this study confirm previous research that explored some of the steps that parents may take as they attempt to understand, accept, and integrate their lesbian, gay, or bisexual child. It appears that accessing resources in the community, participating in supportive or self-help groups, and engaging in social advocacy are some of these important steps for parents. Additional findings and implications for future research, practice, and advocacy are discussed.