Coming Out in Family and Sports-related Contexts among Young Italian Gay and Lesbian Athletes: The Mediation Effect of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Attitude

Pistella, Jessica; Rosati, Fausta; Ioverno, Salvatore; Girelli, Laura; Laghi, Fiorenzo; Lucidi, Fabio; Baiocco, Roberto

doi:10.1007/s10826-019-01551-0

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The athletes defended their use of slurs (e.g., fag) as normal banter and humour in sport which they perceived to be harmless because they believed they did not have any gay teammates. The athletes in Magrath's study seemed unaware that LGBTQ+ athletes try to hide their sexuality or gender identity because homophobic and transphobic language makes them feel unwelcome (Denison & Kitchen, 2015;Greenspan, Griffith, Hayes, & Murtagh, 2019;Pistella et al, 2020).…”

Section: Is Sport Becoming More Inclusive For Lgbtq+ People?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviewing evidence of LGBTQ+ discrimination and exclusion in sport

Denison

Bevan

Jeanes

2020

Sport Management Review

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Sport organisations continue to place a low priority on addressing the exclusion and discrimination experienced by LGBTQ+ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, questioning/queer, and sexual/gender diverse). It was previously thought this was due to a lack of quantitative evidence of a problem; however, over the past decade, a large body of quantitative research has been conducted, including two international studies, providing strong evidence that discriminatory behaviour remains common in sport and is harmful to this population. In this paper, the authors summarise existing quantitative evidence and consider why sport organisations continue to be slow to address LGBTQ+ exclusion. They argue sport management scholars are in a unique and privileged position to address current resistance to action and drive change through conducting research aimed at identifying pragmatic, practical approaches to end harmful discriminatory behaviours. Finally, the authors describe why such research has the potential to mitigate harm while also advancing the discipline in ways described as being needed by leading scholars.

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Section: Is Sport Becoming More Inclusive For Lgbtq+ People?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviewing evidence of LGBTQ+ discrimination and exclusion in sport

Denison

Bevan

Jeanes

2020

Sport Management Review

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“…In Italy, cis-heterosexism and cis-heteronormativity is pervasive at an institutional level, and LGBQ+ people face stigma and prejudice in several contexts ( Baiocco and Pistella, 2019 ; Rollè et al, 2020 ). Previous research has identified the family, school, and healthcare arenas as potentially negative environments for Italian sexual minorities ( Baiocco et al, 2015 , 2020 ; Rosati et al, 2020 ), and other research has highlighted the relationship between ISS and CO ( Baiocco et al, 2016 ; Pistella et al, 2020b ). As mentioned above, another environment potentially causing minority stress for Italian sexual minorities is represented by the Catholic Church: a recent study ( Garelli, 2013 ) estimated that approximately 80% of Italian citizens identify as Catholic, thus for sure including also a share of the Italian LGBQ+ population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Coming-Out Process in Family, Social, and Religious Contexts Among Young, Middle, and Older Italian LGBQ+ Adults

et al. 2020

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The coming out (CO) process is fundamental for identity integration among LGBQ+ people, and its impact can vary greatly depending on personal and contextual factors. The historical, cultural, and social contexts in which LGBQ+ people develop their sexual identity can mediate the relationship between CO and health outcomes. The present study aimed at clarifying the CO process in three generations of Italian LGBQ+ people (young adults: aged 20–40 years; middle adults: aged 41–60 years; older adults: aged 61–80 years) by providing data on: (a) sexual orientation milestones, such as age of first awareness, age of first self-label, and age of first CO, as well as the rate of disclosure during different life stages; (b) the rate and average age of CO to significant others; and (c) CO within the religious context and its effect on participants’ minority stress experiences. A total of 266 Italian LGBQ+ people participated in the study, with ages ranging from 20 to 80 years (M = 41.15, SD = 16.13). Findings indicated that, on average, the older adult group became self-aware, self-labeled, and disclosed their sexual identity at a significantly older age than the other groups. Older adults were also more Catholic and had CO more frequently to their Catholic community, relative to young and middle adults. CO within the Catholic context was associated with distal and proximal minority stressors, such as discrimination, vigilance, and internalized sexual stigma. Catholic community reactions to participants’ CO were distinguished through thematic analysis in three main types: unconditional acceptance, invitation to change, and open rejection. The present research extended current knowledge on CO and minority stress experiences in different generations of LGBQ+ people. Several differences emerged between generational groups on sexual orientation milestones, highlighting the potential impact of historical and cultural contexts in determining sexual minorities’ experiences related to sexual identity. It is recommended that mental health professionals working with LGBQ+ clients implement targeted interventions based on their clients’ multiple salient aspects, including age and religious background. Clinicians should also be aware of the potentially detrimental effects of CO within an unsupportive context, rather than encouraging CO tout court.

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“…Parents’ reactions to the CO were categorized into one of four response options (accepting, tolerant, intolerant, or rejecting). Previous research has also used these measures of CO ( D’Augelli et al, 1998 ; Pistella et al, 2020a , b ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, other research has shown that CO can be a negative experience, by exposing young people to violence, verbal abuse, and rejection ( D’Augelli and Grossman, 2001 ; Pistella et al, 2020a , b ). These negative outcomes may have a significant impact on psychological well-being ( Baiocco et al, 2015 ), especially amongst bisexual individuals, more so than gay and lesbian people ( Ross et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The CO process has also been found to be associated with internalized sexual stigma (ISS; Lingiardi et al, 2012 )—that is, the internalization of negative feelings, representations, and attitudes toward a non-heterosexual orientation that sexual minority people inflict upon themselves, either consciously or unconsciously ( Herek et al, 2009 ). By preventing self-acceptance of one’s sexual orientation, a high level of ISS can lead young people to hide and deny their orientation ( D’Augelli et al, 2002 ; Lingiardi et al, 2012 ; Salvati et al, 2018 ) and consequently come out less to family members ( D’Augelli and Grossman, 2001 ; Chow and Cheng, 2010 ; Pistella et al, 2016 , 2020a , b ), friends, and significant others ( Lingiardi et al, 2012 ; Costa et al, 2013 ; Salvati et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coming Out to Parents in Lesbian and Bisexual Women: The Role of Internalized Sexual Stigma and Positive LB Identity

2020

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The experience of “coming out” (CO) to parents is often a crucial event in the lives of lesbian and bisexual (LB) women, associated with lower internalized sexual stigma (ISS) and higher positive LB identity. Few studies have compared the experiences of LB women in the CO process. Rather, most prior research has either: (1) not addressed bisexuality or eliminated bisexual individuals from the analysis; (2) combined bisexual women and bisexual men in the same sexual orientation group; or (3) examined bisexual participants alongside lesbian women and gay men, using a single monolithic measure. Thus, the present research aimed at investigating the role of ISS and positive LB identity in inhibiting or encouraging CO to parents in a sample of 241 lesbian women (Mage = 27.61, SD = 7.19) and 186 bisexual women (Mage = 25.23, SD = 5.81), aged 18–40 years. Most participants reported that they had already revealed their sexual orientation to their mother (69%) and their father (52%). More lesbian women had CO to both their mother and their father than had bisexual women. These lesbian women reported lower levels of ISS and higher levels of LB positive identity relative to bisexual women. On average, CO to mothers occurred at age 20 (SD = 5.54), while CO to fathers occurred at age 22 (SD = 5.63). LB women did not differ in the average age of CO to mothers or fathers, or in parental reactions to CO. Finally, ISS was found to affect the process of CO to both parents via positive identity (bootstrapping estimate = −0.26, SE = 0.08, 95% CI = −0.43, 0.11), whereas sexual orientation was not found to moderate the path from ISS to CO to both parents. The present study contributes to our understanding of the differences between LB women when developing their sexual orientation, highlighting the relevance of a positive LB identity for CO to parents. Research and clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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Coming Out in Family and Sports-related Contexts among Young Italian Gay and Lesbian Athletes: The Mediation Effect of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Attitude

Cited by 21 publications

References 48 publications

Reviewing evidence of LGBTQ+ discrimination and exclusion in sport

Reviewing evidence of LGBTQ+ discrimination and exclusion in sport

The Coming-Out Process in Family, Social, and Religious Contexts Among Young, Middle, and Older Italian LGBQ+ Adults

Coming Out to Parents in Lesbian and Bisexual Women: The Role of Internalized Sexual Stigma and Positive LB Identity

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