IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i9p1167-d1469930.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Religious Affiliation, Internalized Homonegativity and Depressive Symptoms: Unveiling Mental Health Inequalities among Brazilian Gay Men

Author

Listed:
  • Felipe Alckmin-Carvalho

    (Department of Psychology and Education, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Pólo IV, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal
    School of Nursing, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01239-020, Brazil)

  • António Oliveira

    (Department of Psychology and Education, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Pólo IV, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal)

  • Patricia Silva

    (Department of Psychology and Education, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Pólo IV, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal)

  • Madalena Cruz

    (Department of Psychology and Education, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Pólo IV, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal)

  • Lúcia Nichiata

    (School of Nursing, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01239-020, Brazil)

  • Henrique Pereira

    (Department of Psychology and Education, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Pólo IV, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal
    Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal)

Abstract

Introduction: Different religious narratives associate same-sex sexuality, in its various manifestations, with moral deviation or sin. Gay men who are socialized in more religious communities appear to experience and internalize greater levels of homonegativity, as well as to present greater indicators of depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate indicators of perceived homonegativity in the community and internalized, and signs/symptoms of depression reported by Brazilian gay men with a nominal religion and compare them to those reported by Atheists or Agnostics. Method: Our sample comprised 194 Brazilian gay men, distributed into three groups: Christians (Protestants and Catholics, n = 71; 36.6%); Spiritualists (Kardecists or religions of African origin, n = 52; 26.8%) and Atheists or Agnostics (n = 71; 36.6%). The following measurement instruments were used: sociodemographic questionnaire, Internalized Homophobia Scale and Beck Depression Scale. Results: High mean scores of depression were verified in all groups, and 60% of the sample presented some level of depression. There was a higher level of self-reported homonegativity among Christians and Spiritualists compared to that reported by Atheists or Agnostics, with the differences between the groups being significant. The regression analysis indicated a significant effect of religion on homonegativity, but not on depression. Conclusion: Our results suggest that gay men’s chronic exposure to non-affirming religious affiliation contexts may harm the construction of a positive gay identity and should be taken into consideration when addressing mental health inequalities of sexual minorities.

Suggested Citation

  • Felipe Alckmin-Carvalho & António Oliveira & Patricia Silva & Madalena Cruz & Lúcia Nichiata & Henrique Pereira, 2024. "Religious Affiliation, Internalized Homonegativity and Depressive Symptoms: Unveiling Mental Health Inequalities among Brazilian Gay Men," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(9), pages 1-14, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:9:p:1167-:d:1469930
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/9/1167/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/9/1167/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. António Oliveira & Henrique Pereira & Felipe Alckmin-Carvalho, 2024. "Occupational Health, Psychosocial Risks and Prevention Factors in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and Other Populations: A Narrative Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-41, July.
    2. Pakula, B. & Shoveller, J. & Ratner, P.A. & Carpiano, R., 2016. "Prevalence and co-occurrence of heavy drinking and anxiety and mood disorders among gay, Lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual Canadians," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1042-1048.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rivers, Ian & Gonzalez, Cesar & Nodin, Nuno & Peel, Elizabeth & Tyler, Allan, 2018. "LGBT people and suicidality in youth: A qualitative study of perceptions of risk and protective circumstances," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1-8.
    2. Bing Lin & Jiaxiu Liu & Wei He & Haiying Pan & Xiaoni Zhong, 2023. "Psychological Status of Men Who Have Sex with Men during COVID-19: An Online Cross-Sectional Study in Western China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-14, January.
    3. Mei-Feng Huang & Yu-Ping Chang & Chung-Ying Lin & Cheng-Fang Yen, 2022. "A Newly Developed Scale for Assessing Experienced and Anticipated Sexual Stigma in Health-Care Services for Gay and Bisexual Men," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-10, October.
    4. Scott Daniel Emerson & Anita Minh & Martin Guhn, 2018. "Ethnic density of regions and psychiatric disorders among ethnic minority individuals," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 64(2), pages 130-144, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:9:p:1167-:d:1469930. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.