Religious Identity Dissonance: Examining the Path of Religious Factors to Depression in Sexual Minority Men in the USA

AbstractLittle is known about the religious factors that contribute to religious identity dissonance (ID) for sexual minority men. Our aim was  to model the path of religious factors to depression symptoms through ID and internalized stigma (IS). US sexual minority men (N = 168) participated in a survey about religious factors and mental health. Serial mediation of religious factors through ID and IS to depression symptoms was assessed using Hayes PROCESS macro. Results indicate that two religious factors significantly increase depression through ID and IS. Nega tive parental religious messages about LGBTQ people play a meaningful role in ID and increasing depression.
Source: Journal of Religion and Health - Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research