Homophobic Bullying and Suicidal Behavior Among US Heterosexual Youth

Outlining Individual and Contextual Factors Related to LGBTQ+ Bullying: A Systematic Review of Two Decades of Research

Scientific interest in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and any other sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression (LGBTQ+) bullying in educational settings has grown exponentially in recent years. However, the varied ways of measuring its occurrence and associated factors have made it difficult to achieve a holistic understanding of this problem. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to provide an updated overview of individual and contextual factors related to LGBTQ+ bullying over the past two decades, based on the measurement approach to this phenomenon. Studies published from 2000 to 2020 were analyzed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses strategy. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied in a staggered process, and 111 articles met all the criteria. Studies focusing on LGBTQ+ bullying victimization or aggression were eligible for inclusion. Our analysis revealed LGBTQ+ bullying is usually examined by measures of general aggressions (47.8%) from the victims' perspective (87.3%). The best-represented factors across studies were individual characteristics (63.1%; n = 70), especially participants' sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (68.5%). Boys/males, from a binary gender perspective, and sexual and gender minority youth in general, were more at risk of being targeted for LGBTQ+ bullying. Although contextual factors were far less well-represented, the results revealed that gay-straight alliances, anti-homophobia policies, and social support act as protective factors. This review highlights the need to analyze LGBTQ+ bullying considering the full spectrum of sexual and gender diversity, to examine in more detail its contextual risk/protective factors, and to design public policies and psychoeducational programs in order to address the low effectiveness of generic interventions. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Sexual Diversity Bullying and Cyberbullying Questionnaires: An Inclusive Approach to Measure Sexuality-Based Bullying

LGBTQ+ bullying is a specific type of stigma-based bullying with a high prevalence among LGBTQ+ people. However, instruments to assess this phenomenon are scarce and focus on homophobic aggressions, and the motivations therefor, mainly in relation to gay and lesbian youths. In this study, we introduce and validate an instrument to assess LGBTQ+ bullying. The instrument covers general and specific aggressions, as well as dimensions of sexuality besides sexual orientation such as gender identity and expression, as a more comprehensive approach to understand the phenomenon. The study included 2,552 adolescents (MAge = 14.54, SD = 1.76) from 13 Andalusian public secondary schools. Regarding gender identity, 43.9% of participants were cisgender boys, 53.5% were cisgender girls, and 2.6% were trans-binary and non-binary gender youths. In terms of sexual orientation, 81.1% of participants were heterosexual students, 2.4% lesbian/gay, 11.2% bisexual/pansexual, 4.4% questioning, and 0.9% asexual. Second-order models for bullying and cyberbullying had a good fit. Moreover, invariance was seen for bullying [ΔCFI = -.003] and cyberbullying [ΔCFI = .003] victimization measures. Furthermore, there was a sexual diversity bias: cisgender heterosexual students were more likely to perpetrate LGBTQ+ aggressions, and LGBTQ+ students were more likely to be targets of general and specific aggressions.

Effectiveness of an educational intervention targeting homophobic language use by young male athletes: a cluster randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

Homophobic language is common in male sport and associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes for all sport participants, but particularly for gay or bisexual youth populations. Evidence-based interventions are needed to reduce such language and mitigate harm. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a short social-cognitive educational intervention delivered by professional rugby union players in youth sport.

METHODS

In a two-arm, cluster randomised controlled trial, 13 Australian youth rugby teams from 9 clubs (N=167, ages 16-20, mean 17.9) were randomised into intervention or control groups. Professional rugby players delivered the intervention in-person. Frequency of homophobic language use was measured 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the intervention. Hypothesised factors underpinning homophobic language were also measured, including descriptive (other people use), prescriptive and proscriptive injunctive norms (approval/disapproval by others), and attitudes towards the acceptability of homophobic language.

RESULTS

At baseline, 49.1% of participants self-reported using homophobic language in the past 2 weeks and 72.7% reported teammates using homophobic language. Significant relationships were found between this behaviour and the hypothesised factors targeted by the intervention. However, generalised estimating equations found the intervention did not significantly reduce homophobic language, or alter the associated norms and attitudes, relative to controls.

CONCLUSION

Use of professional rugby athletes to deliver education on homophobic language was not effective. Other approaches to reduce homophobic language (and other forms of discrimination) such as peer-to-peer education, and enforcement of policies prohibiting specific language by coaches, should be explored.

Shame-Based Experiences of Homophobic Bullying and Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Self-Compassionate Actions

Homophobic experiences with traumatic characteristics related to shame are more frequent among sexual minority (SM) than heterosexual individuals. Concurrently, SM individuals present higher levels of psychopathology and transdiagnostic processes (e.g., shame) than heterosexual individuals. Self-compassion has been identified as a protective mechanism that counteracts the effects of shame. The current study aimed to analyse which components of self-compassion affect mental health and test the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between feelings of shame in traumatic homophobic bullying experiences (THBEs) and psychopathology indicators (depression, anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms). In this study, 190 Portuguese SM individuals (Mage = 28.3, SD = 7.5) completed self-report measures assessing traumatic experiences, self-compassion, and psychopathology. Data were explored with SPSS and AMOS. Regression analyses showed that internal shame felt during THBE and compassionate actions predicted psychopathology outcomes. Mediation analyses revealed that internal shame during a THBE had a significant indirect effect on all psychopathology outcomes through compassionate actions. In other words, internal shame during a THBE was significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and social anxiety, and these relationships were partially mediated by compassionate actions. Our results reinforce the importance of developing compassionate actions towards the self as a possible protective factor for psychopathology among SM individuals.

Examining Pride Cups as a health promotion resource to address homophobia in Australian men's sport

Effective interventions are needed to stop homophobic behaviours in sport settings as these behaviours are associated with negative health and social outcomes for individuals who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or other diverse genders and sexualities. This paper reports the results of a quasi-experimental study commissioned by a public health agency to explore the benefits of a novel intervention that has been widely adopted by Australian community sport clubs. The 'Pride Cup' intervention includes education for club leaders, sport participants and the hosting of a rainbow-themed 'pride game'. Survey responses of male participants from six randomly selected sport clubs which had received the intervention (n = 148) were compared to responses (n = 137) from six randomly selected comparison clubs (Australian Football, cricket, field hockey, roller derby). Employing a post-test-only design, the study explored differences in homophobic attitudes, behaviours and individual efficacy to react negatively to homophobic behaviours. The study found significant differences (p < 0.001) in self-reported use of homophobic slurs (e.g. fag) in the last 2 weeks by participants in the treatment (11%) versus comparison (31.8%) clubs, and significant differences in the perceived use of these slurs by teammates (25.9% vs. 56.6%) or coaches (7.8% vs. 23.3%). There were also significant differences in efficacy scores, but no differences in homophobic attitudes. These results, combined with evidence of community-driven adoption, support the allocation of public health resources to conduct larger scale trials using pre/post designs to confirm these findings.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education Improves Primary Students' Explicit and Implicit Attitudes Toward Homosexuality

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a curriculum-based process that is inclusive to gender and sexual orientation. We used the attitude toward homosexuality scale and the single category implicit association test (SC-IAT) to measure differences between explicit and implicit attitudes toward homosexuality between migrant children with 6 years CSE learning experience (experimental group, N = 70) and those without (control group, N = 80). We found that the experimental group had more positive explicit and implicit attitudes toward homosexuality than the control group. In conclusion, CSE is a useful process for improving the explicit and implicit attitudes of migrant children toward homosexuality.

Homophobic Bullying in Positive and Negative School Climates: The Moderating Role of Gender Sexuality Alliances

The presence of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in schools has been linked to low rates of bullying for lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning (LGBQ), transgender, and all students. However, little is known about how the heterogeneity in GSA functioning and school climates may affect these rates. This study examines whether a well-functioning GSA would limit the effect of a negative school climate as a risk factor for homophobic victimization experiences. The sample included 38,872 students (3401 LGBQ and 453 transgender) from 58 California high schools. Several independent databases were combined. Students reported on homophobic victimization, the school climate, and demographic information. At the school level, reports from all students were aggregated for school climate; reports from GSA members were aggregated on their perceptions of GSA functioning; publicly-available data were used for school characteristics. The results suggest that greater GSA functioning may be beneficial for all students in schools that have a negative school climate, and particularly protective for transgender students.

Stressful life events and hopelessness in adults: the mediating role of mentalization and emotional dysregulation

Objective:

Hopelessness is considered a risk factor for several mental and behavioral disorders. Research has shown that a stressful life event can be a significant predictor of hopelessness. The aim of the current research study was to explore the relationship between stressful life events and hopelessness, as well as to analyses the mediation effect of both mentalization and emotional dysregulation on this relationship.

Methods:

In a cross-sectional design, 607 participants recruited from the Spanish general population completed a series of measures.

Results:

Hopelessness was significantly related to stressful life events (r = 0.24, p < 0.001), emotion dysregulation variables (r = 0.18/0.38), and most measures of mentalization (r = 0.02/0.34). A good-fitting structural equation modeling-based mediation model (χ²/df = 2.04; root mean squared error of approximation = 0.042 [90%CI 0.033-0.050]; comparative fit index = 0.97; non-normed fit index = 0.97) showed that mentalization significantly mediated the relationship between stressful life events and hopelessness, while emotion dysregulation had no significant mediating effect.

Conclusions:

These results could have important clinical implications, such as the development of mentalization-based interventions for people living under a large number of stressors.