Gender Roles and Internalized Sexual Stigma in Gay and Lesbian Persons: A Quadratic Relation

ABSTRACT

Purpose: No previous research has deeply investigated the association between gay men and lesbians’ adherence to gender roles and their internalized sexual stigma. This study suggests a potential non-linear correlation between these factors. Methods: Seventy-five gay men and 70 lesbians responded to self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate linear, quadratic, and exponential models and to determine which model best explained the correlation. Results: The quadratic model best explained the correlation, showing no gender differences. Conclusion: Adherence to gender roles constitutes a relevant factor in predicting internalized sexual stigma.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender roles
• internalized sexual stigma
• gay and lesbian health
• masculinity

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author disclosure statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Funding

This study was not funded by any grant.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors. Our research received the approval by Ethical Committee of Sapienza University.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Acknowledgements

There are no acknowledgements to report.