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Queer and Flourishing: Understanding the Psychosocial Well- Being of Non-Heterosexual Men

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Queer and Flourishing: Understanding the Psychosocial Well- Being of Non-Heterosexual Men Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects Queer and Flourishing: Understanding the Psychosocial Well- Being of Non-Heterosexual Men Philip James Cooke Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Counseling Psychology Commons, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons Recommended Citation Cooke, Philip James, "Queer and Flourishing: Understanding the Psychosocial Well-Being of Non- Heterosexual Men" (2018). Dissertations (1934 -). 792. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/792 QUEER AND FLOURISHING: UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING OF NON-HETEROSEXUAL MEN by Philip Cooke, M.A. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin August 2018 ABSTRACT QUEER AND FLOURISHING: UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING OF NON-HETEROSEXUAL MEN Philip Cooke, M.A. Marquette University, 2018 Non-heterosexual populations often face the additional stress of discrimination, harassment, and social rejection due to their sexual identity. These prejudicial experiences, along with other factors such as internalized homonegativity, negative appraisal of one’s sexual identity, and poor social support, contribute to an increased risk for negative mental health outcomes for sexual minority individuals (King et al., 2008; Meyer, 2003). While much is known about factors predicting psychosocial distress in LGB populations, less is known about the factors that predict psychosocial well-being in this group. The present study investigated the minority stress framework’s (Meyer, 1995; 2003) theory that minority stress processes (e.g., discrimination, internalized homonegativity) negatively affect positive psychosocial health outcomes (e.g., positive affect, meaning in life) in non-heterosexual men. Additionally, the study examined how positive sexual identity factors and universal protective factors (e.g., social support and resilience) affect the psychosocial well-being of non-heterosexual men. Results of the study showed that social support and resilience had the largest effect on psychosocial well-being, while holding positive views on various aspects of one’s non-heterosexual identity were not significant predictors of well-being. Implications of these findings, limitations to the study, and future research directions are discussed. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Philip Cooke, M.A. This dissertation would not be possible without the support of my family, mentors, colleagues, and friends. I would like to thank my mother and father whose unending encouragement, support, and belief in me have afforded me the confidence to pursue the opportunities that led me to this dissertation. I have the utmost appreciation for the many mentors and colleagues I have had to guide and encourage me throughout the course of my graduate studies, especially my dissertation chair, Tim Melchert. Lastly, I am incredibly grateful for my partner and husband, JC Clementz, who has shown me what it means to live a queer and flourishing life. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1 LGB HEALTH DISPARITIES AND THE MINORITY STRESS FRAMEWORK 3 WELL-BEING RESEARCH 6 LGB WELL-BEING RESEARCH 8 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 10 METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS 11 CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 13 WELL-BEING OVERVIEW 13 Hedonic Well-Being 14 Subjective Well-Being Theory 15 Eudaimonic Well-Being 17 Psychological Well-Being Theory 18 Social Well-Being Theory 19 Critiques of Well-Being Research within Psychology 19 Critiques of Hedonic Well-Being 19 Critiques of Eudaimonic Well-Being 21 Integrative and Alternative Perspectives 22 PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING 24 The Minority Stress Framework 25 Distal Stress Processes 25 Proximal Stress Processes 26 iii Alternative Explanations and Critiques 27 LGB Identity and Well-Being 30 Positive Dimensions LGB Well-Being 33 Measuring Psychological Well-Being as an Outcome 33 Psychological Predictors of LGB Well-Being 34 Positive Aspects of LGB Identity 36 LGB Positive Psychology Research 40 Positive Subjective Experiences 40 Character Strengths and Virtues 43 Positive Institutions 43 Conclusion 44 SOCIAL WELL-BEING OF LGB INDIVIDUALS 46 Family of Origin 47 Same-Sex Intimate Relationships 49 Relationship Satisfaction 50 Relationship Quality 52 Social Support and Community Connectedness 53 Public Policy 55 Anti-Discrimination Policies 55 Same-sex Marriage Discrimination and Equality 57 Conclusion 60 GENERAL CRITIQUES AND CONCLUSIONS 62 Conceptual Critiques of LGB Well-Being Research 62 iv Research Methodology Critiques of LGB Well-Being Research 64 Sampling 64 Research Design 67 Gaps in the Literature 69 CHAPTER 3 - METHODS 72 PARTICIPANTS 72 PROCEDURES 74 MEASURES 75 Psychosocial Well-Being 75 Minority Stress Processes 77 Distal Minority Stress Processes 77 Proximal Minority Stress Processes 79 Concealment Motivation 80 Internalized Homonegativity 80 Positive Non-Heterosexual Identity Valence 80 Strengths Associated with being Non-Heterosexual 82 Self-Awareness 83 Authenticity 83 Community 83 Intimacy 84 Social Justice 84 Social Support 85 Significant Other, Family, and Friend Support 85 v LGBT Community Connectedness 86 Resilience 87 Open-Ended Qualitative Items 89 Negative Mental Health 89 PROPOSED MODELS 91 Measurement Model 91 Structural Model 93 CHAPTER 4 - RESULTS 96 POWER ANALYSIS 95 PRELIMINARY ANALYSES 96 LATENT VARIABLE MODELING ANALYSIS PROCEDURES 98 MEASUREMENT MODEL - CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS (CFA) 100 STRUCTURAL MODEL 105 CHAPTER 5 - DISCUSSION 110 STRUCTURAL MODEL 110 REGRESSION HYPOTHESES 112 Research questions 1-4: Minority stress processes 112 Research questions 5-7: Positive LGB identity 117 Research question 8: Social support and well-being 119 Research question 9: Resilience and well-being 120 Conclusion 121 LIMITATIONS 122 Sample 122 vi Measurement 123 Methodology 124 FUTURE DIRECTIONS 125 CONCLUSION 127 BIBLIOGRAPHY 133 APPENDIX A - SURVEY ITEMS 150 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1. Sample Description i Table 3.2. Descriptive Statistics ii Table 3.1. Bivariate Correlations iii Table 4.1. Initial Measurement Model 1 Factor Loadings v Table 4.2. Final Measurement Model 1 Parameter Estimates vi Table 4.3. Final Measurement Model 1 Residual Correlations viii Table 4.4. Final Measurement Model 2 Parameter Estimates ix Table 4.5. Initial Structural Model 1 Residual Correlations xi Table 4.6. Final Structural Model 1 Residual Correlations xii Table 4.7. Structural Model 1 Parameter Estimates xiii Table 4.8. Structural Model 2 Residual Correlations xv Table 4.9. Structural Model 2 Parameter Estimates xvi viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Minority Stress Framework (Meyer, 2003) i Figure 2. Hypothesized Structural Model 1 ii Figure 3. Hypothesized Measurement Model 1 iii Figure 4. Hypothesized Measurement Model 2 iv Figure 5. Hypothesized Structural Model 2 v Figure 6. Measurement Model 1 with Parameter Estimates vi Figure 7. Measurement Model 2 with Parameter Estimates vii Figure 8. Structural Model 1 with Parameter Estimates viii Figure 9. Structural Model 2 with Parameter Estimates ix 1 Queer and Flourishing: Understanding the Psychosocial Well-Being of Non-Heterosexual Men Chapter One INTRODUCTION Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the recent United States Supreme Court decision that ruled marriage is a civil right for all same-sex couples in the country, was a landmark moment for the LGB community. The decision by the court was one of many recent examples of the exponential growth in public acceptance of civil rights for individuals with minority sexual identities over the past several decades. This massive sociocultural shift is all the more breathtaking when considering that only 50 years ago, homosexuality was still considered a psychiatric disorder and the Stonewall Riots of 1969, often considered the start of the modern gay rights movement, had yet to take place. The majority of the past 50 years for LGB individuals has been characterized by stress and social stigma, widespread private and public discrimination, persistent activism by the LGB community to secure civil rights, and the devastation caused by the HIV/AIDS epidemic to the community. Because of this, psychologists and social scientists who were interested in the health and well-being of LGB individuals naturally focused on understanding the impacts of stress, stigma, and discrimination on sexual minority individuals. Their work yielded important findings such as theories of minority sexual identity development (e.g., Cass, 1984), greater understanding of the impact of minority stress on LGB individuals (e.g., Meyer, 1995; Herek & Garnets, 2007), and the stigmatizing impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic (e.g., Herek & Capitanio, 1993). This research helped to establish the deleterious effects of discrimination toward LGB 2 individuals and provided direction for psychosocial interventions and public policy advocacy. The primary focus of social science research on the effects of sexual minority stress and discrimination on mental health was undoubtedly important and necessary work in the movement toward greater acceptance of non-dominant sexual identities. One downside of this, however, was it tended to focus on the negative aspects associated with having a non-heterosexual identity (Horne, Puckett, Apter, & Levitt, 2014). As has been the case with research concerning
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