Attachment Anxiety and Internalized Heterosexism as Mediators of Discrimination and Depression, Anxiety, and Well-being in College Same Sex Attracted Women

Open Access
- Author:
- Wix, Rachel Angela
- Graduate Program:
- Counseling Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 01, 2012
- Committee Members:
- Kathleen Bieschke, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Susan Woodhouse, Committee Member
Jolyce Illfelder Kaye, Committee Member
Stephanie A Shields, Committee Member - Keywords:
- sexual orientation
lesbian
bisexual
queer
LGB
discrimination
HHRDS - Abstract:
- This purpose of the current investigation is to examine how sexual orientation related discrimination experiences affect same sex attracted college women’s well-being, depression, and anxiety using Hatzenbuehler’s (2009) psychological mediation model. Previous research has consistently demonstrated that discrimination experiences are related to negative outcomes. Further, previous research has fruitfully demonstrated that some variables, such as self-esteem, have the ability to buffer the discrimination - distress link. The goal of the current investigation was to extend previous research examining mediators that explain how discrimination influences important psychological outcomes. Hatzenbuehler suggests that mediators be universal processes which are known to influence all people or group specific processes. Therefore, attachment anxiety and internalized heterosexism were examined as mediators of the discrimination - distress link. College women were recruited from campus LGB resource centers, women’s center, and multicultural resource centers around the country, as well as, campus student groups using listserv announcements and Facebook posts. Participants were 128 undergraduate same sex attracted women. Results of the current investigation did not support attachment anxiety or internalized heterosexism as mediators of the discrimination - distress link. However, college students in the current investigation did not report many experiences of discrimination and discrimination was not related to the outcome variables. Post-hoc analyses revealed that women reported more discrimination related to harassment and rejection than in other domains. In addition, lesbian women reported higher levels of discrimination than bisexual identified women; whereas, queer identified women did not differ significantly from either lesbian or bisexual identified women. Finally, when the subscales of internalized heterosexism were considered in isolation as potential mediators, it was found that personal feelings about being a lesbian did partially mediate the relationship between discrimination and depression scores.