Ricerc@Sapienza

The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Positive Identity Measure (LGB-PIM), developed by Riggle and colleagues (2014). The LGB-PIM evaluate positive LGB identity in sexual minorities through five dimensions: self-awareness, authenticity, community, intimacy, and social justice. The instrument was administered to 429 participants (129 lesbians; 179 gay males; 121 bisexuals), aged from 18 to 57 years (M = 27.20; DS = 7.26).

We investigated lesbians’ negative affect toward gay and lesbian scenarios with feminine/negative characteristics. Seventy-one Italian lesbians responded to self-report questionnaires. Analyses tested that feminine gay man scenario (GF) would elicit negative affect more than the other three scenarios (feminine/masculine lesbian woman and masculine gay man) and that participants’ internalized sexual stigma would be a moderator of the relation between their self-perceived femininity and negative affect.

Research on bullying and homophobic bullying has mainly focused on school contexts, with little research in sports-related contexts. This study used a sample of 88 gay males and 120 heterosexual males between 18 and 36 years of age to examine the frequency of bullying experiences in Italian sports-related contexts. The results showed that gay men reported more frequent bullying and homophobic bullying than heterosexual men. Gay men reported dropping out of sports more frequently, namely due to a fear of being bullied and greater familial pressure to conform to masculine-type sports.

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.

Previous research has shown that the act of disclosing sexual orientation, known as coming out (CO), yields various benefits for gay and lesbian (GL) persons. Moreover, some researchers have found that CO is negatively related to internalized sexual stigma (ISS). However, most research has focused on CO to parents and a few studies have examined CO to siblings. The aim of this research is to deepen the understanding of the role of CO to siblings in protecting GL persons' wellbeing.

Objectives: A recently growing literature explored the effect of mindfulness on the reduction of stereotypes and prejudice. However, studies exploring the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and prejudice are very limited and contradictory. The current work focused on the associations of dispositional mindfulness with internalized sexual stigma, and sexual prejudice in gay/bisexual men and heterosexual men, respectively.

Grounded in the framework of the gay glass ceiling, the current research investigated the effect of gay men’s internalized sexual stigma (ISS) on both the perceived effectiveness of other gay men’s leadership and on their self‐perceived leadership effectiveness and their intention to apply to a leadership position. In three studies (N = 402), we manipulated either the leader’s sexual orientation (SO) (study 1), or his adherence to traditional gender roles (TGR) (study 2), or participants’ fictitious masculinity score (study 3).

It is well established in the literature that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) students are more likely to be bullied at school compared to heterosexual students (Kann et al., 2016). There also has been strong evidence of the detrimental impact of homophobic bullying (HB) on the well-being of LGB youth. In fact, LGB students who are victims of HB are more likely to internalize negative prejudice on LGB people reporting high levels of internalized sexual stigma (ISS) (Baiocco et al., 2010; Blais et al., 2014; Collier et al., 2013).

The present study aimed to: (a) investigate the relationship between attitudes toward same-sex parenting and sexism both in heterosexuals and sexual minorities; (b) verify whether sexism predicted negative attitudes toward same-sex parenting via the mediating role of sexual stigma (sexual prejudice in heterosexual people and internalized sexual stigma [ISS] in lesbians and gay men [LG]).

Objectives Siblings have been recognized as playing a major role in the coming out process, because they share the same family as the lesbian and gay individual and are often of the same generation. Despite this recognized role, however, research on coming out has mainly focused on parents, and only few studies have examined the coming out process with respect to siblings. Methods This study used a sample of 241 lesbians and 171 gay men to examine the frequency with which Italian sexual minorities come out to significant persons in their life.