Are Gay Men in Worse Mental Health than Heterosexual Men? The Role of Age, Shame and Guilt, and Coming-Out
Are Gay Men in Worse Mental Health than Heterosexual Men? The Role of Age, Shame and Guilt, and Coming-Out
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DOI：
10.1007/s10804-009-9059-x
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发表时间：
2009-08-01
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Moes, Elizabeth
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bybee, Jane A.;Sullivan, Eric L.;Moes, Elizabeth
此前的研究报告称，同性恋者的心理健康状况比异性恋者更差，通常采用年轻或混合年龄的样本，而忽略了年龄的作用。本研究结果表明，与异性恋男性相比，同性恋男性的心理健康问题可能会随着年龄的增长而得到更大的改善。在这项研究中，对 86 名年龄在 18-48 岁的异性恋者和 81 名男同性恋者的以下心理健康指标进行了检查，结果发现这些指标具有可比性：抑郁、自杀、愤怒、焦虑、消极自尊、情绪不稳定和缺乏情绪反应。大多数指数显示男同性恋者的年龄相关影响，老年人报告的症状较轻。在异性恋男性中，年龄的影响不太普遍，尽管老年男性的愤怒症状确实较少。慢性羞耻感和慢性内疚感与心理健康问题有关，而羞耻感的减少在一定程度上是男同性恋者抑郁症随年龄增长而下降的原因。披露/隐藏性别身份的不同方法也与男同性恋者的羞耻、内疚和心理健康有关。
Previous studies reporting that gay individuals are in worse mental health than heterosexuals have typically employed young or mixed-age samples, ignoring the role of age. Mental health problems may show greater age-related improvement among gay than heterosexual men as indicated by the findings of the present study. In this study, the following indices of mental health are examined, and found to be comparable, among 86 heterosexual and 81 gay men aged 18-48: depression, suicidality, anger, anxiety, negative self-esteem, emotional instability, and lack of emotional responsiveness. Most indices show age-related effects among gay men, with less severe symptoms reported by older individuals. Among heterosexual men, effects of age are less widespread, although older men do report fewer symptoms of anger. Chronic shame and chronic guilt are related to mental health problems and a lessening in shame accounted, in part, for the age-related decline in depression among gay men. Different approaches to disclosing/concealing sexual identity are also linked with shame, guilt, and mental health among gay men.