Does Sense of Belonging Mediate the Relationship Between Internalized Homophobia and Depressive Symptoms Among Homosexual Individuals in Indonesia?
- DOI
- 10.2991/assehr.k.201125.038How to use a DOI?
- Keywords
- depressive symptoms, homosexual, internalized homophobia, minority stress, sense of belonging
- Abstract
Society often regards homosexual individuals negatively. This phenomenon occurs worldwide but is particularly evident in places where the majority of the population holds conservative views on homosexuality, such as Indonesia. Homosexual individuals can direct society’s negative attitudes onto themselves and develop a minority stress source specific to homosexuals called internalized homophobia. Internalized homophobia is associated with depressive symptoms through a low sense of belonging. This study examines the mediating effect that a sense of belonging has on the relationship between internalized homophobia and depressive symptoms among homosexual individuals in Indonesia. These variables were measured using the Internalized Homophobia Scale, the psychological scale of Sense of Belonging Instrument, and Beck’s Depression Inventory-II. In total, 295 participants were recruited through social media (Instagram, Twitter) and messaging applications (Line, Whatsapp). The participants were 18- to 37-year-old Indonesian citizens who identified as gay or lesbian. A multiple regression analysis indicates that sense of belonging partially mediates the relationship between internalized homophobia and depressive symptoms. Based on these results, homosexual individuals can identify internalized homophobia as a risk factor for depressive symptoms and learn the importance of being involved in the general community to increase their sense of belonging, which can help reduce those symptoms.
- Copyright
- © 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
- Open Access
- This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Cite this article
TY - CONF AU - Priyanka Ardiya AU - Bona Sardo Hasoloan Hutahaean PY - 2020 DA - 2020/11/27 TI - Does Sense of Belonging Mediate the Relationship Between Internalized Homophobia and Depressive Symptoms Among Homosexual Individuals in Indonesia? BT - Joint proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Intervention and Applied Psychology (ICIAP 2019) and the 4th Universitas Indonesia Psychology Symposium for Undergraduate Research (UIPSUR 2019) PB - Atlantis Press SP - 447 EP - 459 SN - 2352-5398 UR - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201125.038 DO - 10.2991/assehr.k.201125.038 ID - Ardiya2020 ER -