The study explored the psychological role of homoeroticism in the spiritual growth of priests, using Grounded Theory and James Fowler’s stages of faith development as the basis for the research methodology. Three Anglican priests were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. The research interview combined Fowler’s Faith Development Interview Guide and a semi-structured interview in order to ascertain the priests’ level of spiritual development, as well as to explore their experience of the homoerotic component to their sexuality, and its influence on their spiritual growth. The interviews and iterative analysis focussed on four major questions: (1) Are priests who experience and actively work at integrating the homoerotic aspect to themselves assisted thereby in their spiritual growth, and if so, how might this be accounted for?; (2) Following Fowler’s model of spiritual development, what processes characterise each priest’s approach to meaning-creation in their lives?; (3) Following Fowler’s model, can the psychological work of engaging with and accepting homoeroticism be conceived of as serving an initiatory function in the emergence of new processes of meaning-creation?; (4) What role does homoeroticism serve in the spiritual growth of priests? The interpretative phase consisted of three stages. A grounded theory analysis of each interview was undertaken, developing a model for understanding the role of homoeroticism in spiritual growth. In the second stage, the priest’s level of spiritual development was ascertained, using Fowler’s Faith Development Guide. The third stage linked each participant’s level of spiritual development (in Fowler’s terms) with their core stories regarding experiences, meanings, and roles of homoeroticism. Finally, an integrative theory of the role of homoeroticism in spiritual growth was developed, using Jungian and post-Jungian theory as a basis for the discussion. The results suggested that homoeroticism did not play any role in spiritual growth and individuation separate to the manner in which it was experienced as having been constructed by society and the Church, and separate to the manner in which each priest in the study expressed, experienced, or engaged with it. In this context the experience of homoeroticism appeared to play a diversity of roles, including representing the collective and personal shadow, the archetypal anima/animus, the archetypal puer/senex constellation, the transcendent function, and thereby, as an expression of these roles, contribute to the emergence of new processes of meaning-creation in the spiritual growth and individuation of priests.

This study focuses on a group of homosexual men. The group has been defined as 'Queer' based on the value and pride which they place on their difference to the general norms and values of the wider society. Four of these men were interviewed on their moral structure and the way in which they structure their relationships. The study focused on: the nature of the norms this group has developed; the process by which this has occurred; and the psychological effects of this process. It was found that the research participants have developed new norms and behavioural scripts significantly different to those existing generally in society. These new behavioural scripts relate to the socially mandated scripts in various ways with some mandated scripts being rejected, some being adapted and amended and others being inverted. These differences seem to originate from individuals being rejected and stigmatised. The changes these queer men have made were moves to bring a greater sense of congruence between their experience, their morality and their behavioural scripts. The initial period of divergence between the socially mandated behavioural scripts and their sexual behaviour was marked by psychological distress while the move to greater congruence between behaviour and behavioural scripts was characterised by increased psychological empowerment and sense of self-worth. The study also showed that during these processes other differences developed between the way these individuals act in their world and the general norm of society. These differences included a greater self-awareness; an increased ability to operate at a meta-level; a conscious effort to create the life that one wants; differences in gender behaviour which incorporated behavioural aspects of both genders and new forms of establishing and maintaining relationships. Homosexuality is an historic opportunity to open up new relational and affective potentialities, not in virtue of qualities intrinsic to the homosexual, but because of the position of the homosexual 'offcenter', somehow, together with the diagonal lines which the homosexual can draw through the social fabric, makes it possible to bring to light these potentialities - a famous homosexual Queer (M. Foucault) / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

This is a study of the mental health status of black homosexuals from LGTBI social organisations who have disclosed their sexual orientation. One hundred participants participated, fifty homosexuals and fifty heterosexuals. The heterosexual participants were used as comparative group. The General Health Questionnaire-28 and a self-designed categorical choice questionnaire were administered to the homosexual sample out of the closet. The heterosexual sample only answered the General Health Questionnaire-28. The designed questionnaire was tested in the pilot study with homosexual participants. The current study seeks to determine whether there is a relationship between disclosure of sexual orientation and mental health. The results suggested that the homosexual population were mentally healthier than heterosexuals of the current study. Nevertheless homosexual people did face significant challenges in disclosing their sexual orientation. Regarding challenges that homosexuals face, some gender differences between gays and lesbians were found. Lesbians were found to be experiencing fewer challenges than gay participants. Being part of LGTBI social networks was found to be associated with positive mental health for homosexuals. Therefore, the study’s general finding was that there is an association between disclosure and positive mental health for homosexuals belonging to LGTBI social networks. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

This study focuses on a group of homosexual men. The group has been defined as 'Queer' based on the value and pride which they place on their difference to the general norms and values of the wider society. Four of these men were interviewed on their moral structure and the way in which they structure their relationships. The study focused on: the nature of the norms this group has developed; the process by which this has occurred; and the psychological effects of this process. It was found that the research participants have developed new norms and behavioural scripts significantly different to those existing generally in society. These new behavioural scripts relate to the socially mandated scripts in various ways with some mandated scripts being rejected, some being adapted and amended and others being inverted. These differences seem to originate from individuals being rejected and stigmatised. The changes these queer men have made were moves to bring a greater sense of congruence between their experience, their morality and their behavioural scripts. The initial period of divergence between the socially mandated behavioural scripts and their sexual behaviour was marked by psychological distress while the move to greater congruence between behaviour and behavioural scripts was characterised by increased psychological empowerment and sense of self-worth. The study also showed that during these processes other differences developed between the way these individuals act in their world and the general norm of society. These differences included a greater self-awareness; an increased ability to operate at a meta-level; a conscious effort to create the life that one wants; differences in gender behaviour which incorporated behavioural aspects of both genders and new forms of establishing and maintaining relationships. Homosexuality is an historic opportunity to open up new relational and affective potentialities, not in virtue of qualities intrinsic to the homosexual, but because of the position of the homosexual 'offcenter', somehow, together with the diagonal lines which the homosexual can draw through the social fabric, makes it possible to bring to light these potentialities - a famous homosexual Queer (M. Foucault) / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Eurocentric literature has contributed towards the understanding of homosexuality for centuries. However, there is very little literature on perceptions of homosexuality from an African perspective. Based on this historical gap, the aim of the current study was to explore Northern Sotho traditional healers’ perceptions of homosexuality in the Capricorn District in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This was with the intention of documenting themes pertinent to Northern Sotho culture regarding homosexuality. Ten (10) participants (7 females and 3 males) were interviewed in the current study and they were selected using snowball sampling. Data was collected using individual face-to-face interviews guided by semi-structured questions and analysed using Thematic content analysis (TCA). The study was underpinned by Afrocentricity. The main themes and sub-themes which emerged from the data analysis were: homosexuality threatens family structure and values; homosexuality is regarded as a taboo and a disgrace; homosexuality and ancestral calling; historical evidence of homosexuality; homosexuality is confusing; homosexuality and western culture; homosexuality and cleansing (mourning process); homosexuality, traditional healing and ancestral calling; homosexuality and initiation schools as well as proposed interventions to curb homosexuality. The results of the study suggest that understanding homosexuality is not consistent with Northern Sotho culture. The study contributes to knowledge and information within Northern Sotho culture and offers suggestions for indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), academic training, policy development and legislation in terms of homosexuality and the indigenous culture. The study also offers guidelines, which health care workers and any other relevant personnel who work closely with homosexuals, should be cognisant of. Furthermore, valuable lessons were also reasoned from the current study in terms of homosexuality and Northern Sotho culture in the area where the research took place.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-11-21T08:57:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Anselmo Clemente.pdf: 4291962 bytes, checksum: 9fc2ebb73b2a8a4ca36d79e62052a190 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-21T08:57:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Anselmo Clemente.pdf: 4291962 bytes, checksum: 9fc2ebb73b2a8a4ca36d79e62052a190 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-10-01 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This thesis is a reflection on the relationship between homoeroticism and cities having the so-called “pegação” (cruising gay) in public spaces as a starting point. Because of its clandestinity, anonymity, amplitude and fragmentation, it’s a subject of difficult study. Methodology - A research was carried out through documental and bibliographic survey, taking into account press material, legislations, novels, photographs and national scientific production. Due to the relative scarcity of studies on the subject in Brazil, we also selected scientific texts, books, movies and testimonies of international experiences similar to the homoerotic concept employed in this study. Another methodological branch of this study involved field research in the city of São Paulo, between October 2016 and January 2018, with open interviews with four participants. The experiences and the places where these practices take place, which adherents consider to be a matter of secret, have not been revealed. The field investigation also took place in areas in which the “pegação” occurs pointed out by the interviewees themselves and characterized by their free access and gratuitousness, except those places that are already extinct or those that are so famous that are indicated by the practitioners themselves in sites of public exchanges of points of casual sex. Objectives - To find out how such practices, besides producing male performances, are targets of discursive regimes that organize public life in the city. To investigate its association with infamy as the product of a history that tended to criminalize or pathologize sexual acts considered deviant, indecent, unproductive or abnormal. And finally, in contrast, to conceptualize the "pegação" as a producer of homoculture and subjectivity. Justification - The importance of the theme is twofold since, on the one hand, the study of the “pegação” provides insight on its meanings and may give us better understanding at some of the profiles of affective and sexual relations in contemporaneity; on the other hand, questioning the forms of “pegação” inserts the researcher into the center of practices that are yet to be studied further, but that make up the whole construction of masculine subjectivity - homo and heterosexual - of our day. Hypothesis – “Pegação” is a polysemic term that, when associated to male sexual practices in the city, refers to the production of masculinities, virility codes, institution of places, sexual practices, homoerotic performances, figures and characters. Results - The research evidenced that the “pegação” has secular history and its own geography. From sodomy crimes, through the constitution of the homosexual and the indirect criminalization of homoerotic public practices, the “pegação” was registered by religious figures, jurists, city administrators, doctors and social scientists, among others. Like Brazil, where it is called "pegação", this practice is found worldwide, under other denominations such as cruising, cottage, drague, yiro etc, identified in an international investigation that allowed us to broaden our capacity for analysis about this mundane and, in a way, clandestine event. The practices of “pegação” and their practicioners witness a city, vary in degree their heteronormative status quo, express a population of particular affections and, for that very reason, produce subjectivities / Esta tese é uma reflexão sobre as relações entre homoerotismo e as cidades partir da chamada pegação entre homens em espaços públicos. Por sua clandestinidade, anonimato, amplitude e fragmentação é um tema de difícil estudo. Metodologia – Foi realizada pesquisa documental e bibliográfica diversificada, de material de imprensa à legislação, passando por romances, fotografias e produção científica nacional. Em razão da relativa escassez acerca do assunto no Brasil, também selecionamos textos científicos, livros, filmes e testemunhos de experiências internacionais análogas ao conceito homoerótico empregado neste estudo. Outro braço metodológico deste trabalho envolveu pesquisa de campo na cidade de São Paulo, entre outubro de 2016 e janeiro de 2018, com realização de entrevistas abertas com quatro participantes. Não foram reveladas as experiências e os locais onde ocorrem essas práticas, cujos adeptos consideram do âmbito do segredo. A investigação de campo se deu também em espaços de pegação, apontados pelos próprios entrevistados e demarcados pelo livre acesso e a gratuidade, exceto aqueles locais já extintos ou que de tão afamados são indicados pelos próprios praticantes em sites de trocas públicas de pontos de sexo casual. Objetivos – Pesquisar como tais práticas, além de produzir performances masculinas, são alvos de regimes discursivos que organizam a vida pública na cidade. Investigar sua associação com a infâmia enquanto produto de uma história que tendeu a criminalizar ou patologizar atos sexuais considerados desviantes, indecentes, improdutivos ou anormais. E finalmente, em contraposição, trabalhar a pegação como produtora de homocultura e subjetivivação próprias. Justificativa – A importância do tema é dupla, uma vez que, por um lado, o estudo da pegação dá a perceber seus significados e informa sobre alguns perfis das relações afetivas e sexuais da contemporaneidade; por outro, questionar as formas de pegação insere o pesquisador no centro de práticas ainda pouco estudadas, mas que compõem toda a construção de subjetividade masculina – homo e heterossexual – de nossos dias. Hipóteses – Pegação é um termo polissêmico que, quando relacionado às práticas sexuais masculinas na cidade, refere-se à produção de masculinidades, códigos de virilidades, instituição de lugares, práticas sexuais, performances homoeróticas, figuras e personagens. Resultados – A pesquisa evidenciou que a pegação possui história secular e geografia própria. Desde os crimes de sodomia, passando pela constituição do homossexual, mas também da criminalização indireta das práticas homoeróticas públicas citadinas, ela foi registrada por religiosos, juristas, administradores da cidade, médicos e cientistas sociais, entre outros. Assim como no Brasil, onde é nomeada pegação, essa prática é encontrada mundo afora, sob outras denominações, como cruising, cottage, drague, yiro etc., identificadas em uma investigação internacional que permitiu ampliar a nossa capacidade de análise acerca desse acontecimento mundano e, de certo modo, clandestino. Recobertas de infâmia por suas experiências indóceis, as práticas de pegação e seus personagens testemunham uma cidade, fazem variar em grau seu cotidiano heteronormativo, expressam uma população de afetos particulares e, por isso mesmo, produzem subjetividades

Clinical psychology’s relevance and future viability depend on its ability to render services that are relevant and sensitive to multicultural and minority issues. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are one such group that professional psychology – both in South Africa and abroad - has identified as having unique treatment needs for which psychologists require specialised knowledge and skills in order to render appropriate treatment. Competence to treat non-heterosexual patients has been framed in terms of a gay affirmative paradigm which has as its basic tenet the recognition that same-gender orientation is not pathological but rather a healthy alternative to heterosexuality. From this perspective being “gay friendly” or “gay accepting” is not enough. To implement a gay affirmative approach in practice, practitioners must have resolved their possible prejudice and heterosexist bias and have the requisite knowledge of concerns unique to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals to be able to apply their skills in a culturally sensitive manner. Although more American post-graduate psychology programmes are addressing sexual diversity, their failure to produce psychologists who feel competent to treat lesbian/gay or bisexual individuals has highlighted the need to develop effective training strategies based on empirical nvestigation. The dearth of comparable data about local South African psychology training prompted this inquiry which had four broad aims namely, (i) to establish to what extent trainees’ prior training had equipped them with the knowledge, awareness, and skills to approach their work with non-heterosexual patients in a gay affirmative manner, and (ii) to implement and (iii) to evaluate to what extent a brief structured training programme is effective in engaging the trainees; in increasing knowledge, in raising awareness, and in changing specific attitudes and imparting specific skills required for treating lesbian and gay patients.; and (iv) what, if any, recommendations should be made for the future with respect to training of sychologists in this area? The field of sexual orientation research has been expanded to include issues pertaining to bisexual, transgendered and intersexed people, but serious time constraints meant that issues pertaining to these groups could not be addressed in depth. Although the exclusion of these groups is problematic and may be seen as reinforcing their invisibility, it was decided to focus primarily on gay and lesbian issues s an introduction to same-sex orientation. It is envisaged that bisexual and transgender issues would be dealt with in depth in more advanced training. Nine trainee psychologists employed at hospitals in the greater Cape Town area volunteered to participate in the programme which comprised a series of two-hour experiential workshops offered once a week over six weeks. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods. The first stage entailed gathering information to better understand trainees’ existing level of competence. Individual interviews were conducted prior to the course to obtain data about their attitudes and perceptions regarding the need for such specialised training, and how qualified they considered themselves to be to treat LGB patients, and their experience in this regard. For the purpose of the over-all analysis information was also gathered about pertinent personal and social characteristics of the trainees, as well as their contact with lesbian/gay persons. In addition, an attitude survey and the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Counselling Self-efficacy Scale (LGB-CSI) were administered to obtain benchmarks against which change could be measured. The second stage involved the implementation of the educational programme and gathering information about trainees’ responses to its various components. This stage concentrated on discovering how individual trainees reacted to material on lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues and how they used the programme to improve their self-awareness and skills. The results indicate that local psychology training might not address same-gender orientation adequately, thus reinforcing trainees’ belief that sexual orientation is irrelevant, and that their generalist training equips them to work with gay/lesbian/bisexual patients. While the training strengthened existing positive attitudes, it was less effective in changing blatant antigay prejudice. However, both quantitative and qualitative data suggest that the programme increased individuals’ awareness and insight into their previously unrecognised heterosexist biases and created greater understanding of the effects of stigmatisation on sexual minority individuals. In addition, the training increased trainee’s sense of competence to provide affirmative treatment as evidenced by the significant differences between the pre- and post-training mean scores on the Relationship, Knowledge, and Advocacy Scales and between the mid- and post-training means scores on the Assessment and Awareness Scales of the LGB-CSI. Despite the limited generalisability of these findings on account of possible sampling bias, the need and value of such training was confirmed by trainees’ recommendation that this programme should be a mandatory offering in the first year of clinical psychology training.

Sexual stereotyping -- United States and Spain -- Attitudes toward homosexuality and gender.

Text in Afrikaans / It is alarming that psychologists are in many cases insufficiently trained with regard to homosexuality. Against this background and on the basis of a literature study and empirical research, this study aims to provide guidelines to educational psychologists on working with homosexual clients. Within the Educational Psychology, a person's self actualisation rests on three pilars, namely experience, meaning assignation and involvement. The premise of the qualitative research (focus group interviews) used in this study is homosexual persons' experience of psychologists - the investigation was therefore approached from an Educational Psychology viewpoint. Altogether 75% of the focus group respondents' experience of psychologists was negative. The possibility exists that insufficient training may cause insufficient knowledge and insight, which in turn may lead to homosexual persons' negative experiences of psychologists. It is therefore imperative that the aspect of training of psychologists with regard to homosexuality will receive attention. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.