Differential Effects of Perceived Discrimination and Affirmation in LGBQ People: Heterosexism During Childhood and Interoceptive Awareness as Individual Contexts
Examines how discrimination and affirmation impact health in LGBQ individuals, showing the significance of early heterosexism and awareness.
Key Points
To explore how childhood heterosexism and interoceptive awareness affect LGBQ individuals' psychological and physiological responses to perceived discrimination and affirmation.
141 LGBQ adults completed measures of childhood heterosexism and interoceptive awareness.
Participants engaged in a lab task involving discrimination, affirmation, and neutral writing conditions.
Outcomes measured include self-esteem, rumination, affect, somatic distress, and heart rate variability.
Early exposure to heterosexism negatively affects health outcomes for LGBQ individuals.
Perceived affirmation had weaker positive effects on self-esteem among those with high heterosexism.
Interoceptive awareness positively correlates with health indicators and helps access positive emotions.