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Despite legal and policy advancements in South Africa, prejudice, discrimination and victimisation are still a reality for many lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people in the country. The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) has embarked on a process to develop lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) affirmative practice guidelines for psychology professionals, when working with these client populations. As a part of the larger objective, this research study highlights LGB people’s experiences of psychotherapy and counselling in South Africa as possible inputs for the mentioned practice guidelines. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with selected participants. The results indicate that some aspects of LGB people’s experiences are similar to those of anyone in psychotherapy or counselling, but also that there are distinct differences. Negative experiences were almost exclusively due to the counsellor being disaffirming of the client's sexual orientation. Self-acceptance and the development of alternative perspectives of sexuality were more prominent outcomes of counselling compared to studies among broader populations. The participants’ feedback on a list of affirmative statements provides a potential basis for future affirmative practice guidelines. / Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)

Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) are disclosing their sexual identity--or coming out--at progressively younger ages, making it more important than ever for the general population to understand, tolerate, and accept diversity in sexual identity. This study was designed to fill the gap in the existing literature about how the coming out process affects LGB young people's families of origin. Three LGB young people participated in the study, along with a member of each of their families. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with each of the participants, as well as a conjoint interview with each of the three families. The findings of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study illustrate the many ways in which a young person's coming out reverberates within the family system, offering a relational understanding of the coming out experience. The results of the study emphasize the process-oriented nature of coming out and the means by which that process is influenced by and influences family relationships and overall family dynamics. Centered on the various ways in which LGB young people prepare to disclose their sexual orientation to their families and how their family members adjust to the disclosure, the study offers a historically and culturally situated overview of the coming out experience in the family. Based on the results of the present study, the researcher offers suggestions for future studies on this subject and presents the implications of the study for LGB young people, their families, and family therapists.

Despite legal and policy advancements in South Africa, prejudice, discrimination and victimisation are still a reality for many lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people in the country. The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) has embarked on a process to develop lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) affirmative practice guidelines for psychology professionals, when working with these client populations. As a part of the larger objective, this research study highlights LGB people’s experiences of psychotherapy and counselling in South Africa as possible inputs for the mentioned practice guidelines. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with selected participants. The results indicate that some aspects of LGB people’s experiences are similar to those of anyone in psychotherapy or counselling, but also that there are distinct differences. Negative experiences were almost exclusively due to the counsellor being disaffirming of the client's sexual orientation. Self-acceptance and the development of alternative perspectives of sexuality were more prominent outcomes of counselling compared to studies among broader populations. The participants’ feedback on a list of affirmative statements provides a potential basis for future affirmative practice guidelines. / Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)

過往關於同志與身心健康的研究，多著重在此身分所帶來的負面影響。本研究採取不同的觀點，探索同志族群可能的韌性，檢驗主／客觀因應彈性（韌性的行為面）以及自我清晰程度（韌性的內在面）對於正負向心理適應的影響，以及性傾向在此關係中所扮演的調節效果。兩個研究皆以調查法收集不同性傾向者（主觀與客觀）的因應彈性、自我清晰程度、憂鬱程度（負向心理適應指標）與生活滿意度（正向心理適應指標）。研究一的壓力事件為參與者自陳其近期壓力事件，研究二的壓力事件則是研究者指定給予參與者去做評量。兩個研究皆發現，客觀因應彈性與憂鬱程度、生活滿意度無關；自我清晰程度越高者，其憂鬱程度越低，且性傾向未調節以上結果。不過，性傾向則調節了自我清晰程度與生活滿意度間的關係。同志族群的自我清晰程度越高、生活滿意度也會越高；異性戀者則無此關係。研究二則發現主觀因應彈性越高，其憂鬱程度越低、生活滿意度越高；然而主觀因應彈性與正、負向心理適應之間的關係，不會受到不同性傾向的調節。兩個研究結果幫助我們瞭解主觀因應彈性、自我清晰程度與心理適應之間的關係，以及此關係在不同性傾向者身上的面貌為何。 / Lesbians, gay men, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are often observed to have poorer psychological adjustments than heterosexual individuals. I adopted a different approach to explore potential strengths in being LGB individuals by testing the impacts of objective/subjective coping flexibility and self-concept clarity on positive and negative psychological adjustments, as well as how sexual orientation may moderate these relationships. Two survey studies in this thesis measured objective/subjective coping flexibility, self-concept clarity, depression and life satisfaction among people with different sexual orientations. To measure objective coping flexibility, participants reported their recent stress events in Study 1, and were given specific stress events to respond in Study 2. The two studies showed that objective coping flexibility was not associated with depression, nor with life satisfaction, whereas self-concept clarity was associated with depression negatively. Sexual orientation did not moderate the above findings. Sexual orientation did moderate the relationship between self-concept clarity and life satisfaction: Self-concept clarity was associated with life satisfaction positively among LGB individuals, but this association was not significant among heterosexual individuals. Study 2 showed that subjective coping flexibility was associated with depression negatively and with life satisfaction positively. Again, sexual orientation did not moderate the above finding. These findings further our understanding regarding objective and subjective coping flexibility, self-concept clarity and psychological adjustments among people with different sexual orientations.

Elevated social anxiety (SA) is linked to issues with emotional distress, substance use, and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Notwithstanding concerns of how sexuality has been defined in the extant literature, emerging evidence suggests that the prevalence of SA and related challenges may be disproportionately present among sexual minorities, including lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs). This trend may be especially relevant within the developmental context of emerging adulthood, an important period for development of sexual identity, and a time when individuals are already predisposed to heightened feelings of SA. The present study examined the relationship between sexual orientation (measured using sexual identity, sexual attraction, and past romantic and sexual behavior) and social anxiety (related to social interaction and social performance) among emerging adults. minority sexual identities [Welch's F(5,48.08) = 5.56, p = .002, ηp2 = .02.], same-sex attraction [Welch's F(4,108.06) = 11.27, p < .001, ηp2 = .04], and same-sex romantic [Welch's F(5,85.91) = 6.88, p < .001, ηp2 = .03] and sexual experiences[F(5,61.95) = 8.88, p < .001, ηp2 = .04], particularly among those who indicated attraction to multiple sexes. Findings support research that indicates that sexual minority adults experience higher levels of SA than majority (i.e., heterosexual, opposite-sex oriented) adults, and that assessment of sexuality may reflect number of sexual minorities identified. Future directions including intersections of race/ethnicity and gender are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to explore the religion – health link in a sample of adults and undergraduate students (N = 555) that identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), and to explore how perceptions of cultural humility of religious individuals and groups toward LGB individuals affect the relationship between religion and health. First, I found religious commitment among LGB individuals was positively correlated with satisfaction in life, but it was negatively correlated with physical health. Second, I found that cultural humility moderated the relationship between religious commitment and satisfaction in life for LGB individuals involved in a religious community. The lowest levels of satisfaction with life were found for individuals with low religious commitment and perceived the cultural humility of their religious community to be low. However, cultural humility did not moderate the relationship between religious commitment and mental and physical health outcomes. Third, I found cultural humility did not moderate the relationship between religious commitment and minority stress (i.e., internalized homophobia). Fourth, I found that cultural humility was a significant positive predictor of motivations to forgive a hurt caused by a religious individual. I conclude by discussing limitations, areas for future research, and implications for counseling.

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