A Systematic and Meta-Analytic Review of Identity Centrality among LGBTQ Groups: An Assessment of Psychosocial Correlates

Abstract

The degree to which an identity is an important aspect of one's self-concept (i.e., identity centrality) relates to both health and prejudice experiences of minority groups. Individuals with greater levels of identity centrality view their world through the lens of that identity. This allows them to engage in more positive identity-relevant experiences. However, it could also heighten their perceptions of in-group threat. Among LGBTQ groups, the relationship between identity centrality and psychosocial outcomes is yet to be established. In this paper, we investigated the relationship between LGBTQ identity centrality and psychosocial outcomes via a comprehensive systematic (k = 89, N = 35,950) and meta-analytic (k = 57, N = 26,704) literature review. Results indicated that greater levels of LGBTQ centrality relates to more positive identity-relevant affirmations (.155 ≤ r's ≤ .419), but also greater prejudice/discrimination perceptions and experiences (−.271 ≤ r's ≤ −.128). We found no evidence of a relationship between LGBTQ centrality and health outcomes (−.052 ≤ r's ≤ .040). Importantly, we found that these relationships are more beneficial for some LGBTQ groups (gay men), than for others (bisexual/transgender individuals). Findings from this review provide important and necessary insights on the role of LGBTQ identity centrality and identify crucial gaps in the literature that should be addressed.

The protective role of identity integration against internalized sexual prejudice for religious gay men.

“…Social Identity Theory posits that the membership with multiple social groups affords benefits that foster greater psychological and physical health (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). This is argued to be the result of in-group membership providing individuals with a sense of belonging to their social world, thereby inducing feelings of comfort, meaning, and purpose, which are known to be critical factors of psychological well-being (Greenaway et al, 2015; Hinton et al, 2021). This additive effect—known as the social cure —has a documented range of protective outcomes.…”

Advancing research into the social psychology of sexual orientations and gender identities: Current research and future directions

“…However, the growing volume of research is not limited to recent societal events, and instead is part of a larger trend in which LGBTQ+ related research has become more visible in several areas of social psychology, including: social cognition (Carnaghi et al., 2021); antecedents and consequences of homonegativity (Bettinsoli et al., 2020) and internalized sexual stigma (Salvati, Pellegrini, et al., 2021b); minority stress model (Meyer & Frost, 2013); self‐concept and identity processes such as coming out (Mitha et al., 2021; Hinton et al., 2021); stereotypes and gender roles (Petsko & Bodenhausen, 2019; Salvati, Passarelli, et al., 2021; Valsecchi et al., 2020); objectification, and dehumanization processes (Breslow et al., 2020; Di Battista et al., 2020; Engeln‐Maddox et al., 2011; Szymanski et al., 2019); social change and collective action to promote LGBTQ+ rights and gender equality (Chan & Mak, 2020; Earle et al., 2021); interpersonal and intergroup relationships (LaCosse & Plant, 2019; Paterson et al., 2019); same‐sex couples and parenting (Costa et al., 2019; Rosenthal et al., 2019); sexual relationships and use of dating apps (Anderson et al., 2018; Cao & Smith, 2021; Guschlbauer et al., 2019; Hinton et al., 2019); intersectionality including multiple minority status (Anderson & Koc, 2020; Koc & Vignoles, 2016, 2018; Stragà et al., 2020); leadership (De Cristofaro et al., 2020; Fasoli & Hegarty, 2020; Pellegrini et al., 2020); social contexts as protective or harmful environments (Baams & Russell, 2021; Bagci et al., 2020); effects of Coronavirus emergency on LGBTQ+ people (Drabble, & Eliason, 2021; Solomon et al., 2021). Overall, these studies have shown that there is higher acceptance of LGBTQ+ people around the world and more recognition of their rights; however, such progress shows a lot of variation across different countries and it is also vulnerable.…”

Estrés de las minorías sexuales y su impacto en la salud mental de las personas LGB+

“…Por otro lado, se ha observado que la población bisexual, en comparación con las personas homosexuales, tiene menos integrada su orientación sexual como parte de su identidad. Es decir, para las personas bisexuales su orientación sexual es menos importante y no es un aspecto tan central en la formación de su identidad (Hinton et al, 2022;la Roi et al, 2019). Dado que la centralidad de la orientación sexual ha sido positivamente relacionada con una mayor percepción de discriminación y de prejuicios (Hinton et al, 2022), este aspecto también podría estar explicando los niveles más bajos de discriminación que presentan las personas plurisexuales.…”

“…Por otro lado, la relevancia que tiene la orientación sexual para la propia identidad se ha visto positivamente relacionada con una mayor reafirmación de la identidad (Hinton et al, 2022;Mohr & Kendra, 2011). Por tanto, dado que para las personas bisexuales la orientación sexual no es una parte tan central de su identidad como lo es para las personas homosexuales (Hinton et al, 2022;la Roi et al, 2019), este podría ser otro factor que esté influyendo en que las personas plurisexuales muestren una menor aceptación de su orientación sexual.…”

“…En base a los resultados obtenidos en anteriores estudios (Bachmann & Gooch, 2018;Durso & Meyer, 2013), parece que los hombres y mujeres bisexuales son los que menos revelan su orientación sexual, en comparación con las personas homosexuales. Este fenómeno podría deberse a un factor ya comentado con anterioridad, el hecho de que la población bisexual percibe que su orientación sexual no es un aspecto tan importante para su identidad como lo es para las personas homosexuales (Hinton et al, 2022;la Roi et al, 2019), por lo que las personas plurisexuales puede que vean irrelevante dar este tipo de información a su entorno. Otra posibilidad es que, debido a que la sociedad muestra mayor rechazo hacia las personas bisexuales que hacia las homosexuales (Burke et al, 2017;Zivony & Lobel, 2014) y a que en muchas ocasiones se juzga o cuestiona la veracidad de la bisexualidad (Alarie & Gaudet, 2013;Barker, 2015;Hayfield, 2021;Pennasilico & Amodeo, 2019), algunas personas prefieran no revelar que son plurisexuales.…”