Minority Stress and Mental Health in Italian Bisexual People

Cristiano Scandurra, Andrea Pennasilico, Concetta Esposito, Fabrizio Mezza, Roberto Vitelli, Vincenzo Bochicchio, Nelson Mauro Maldonato and Anna Lisa Amodeo
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Cristiano Scandurra: Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Napoli, Italy
Andrea Pennasilico: Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Napoli, Italy
Concetta Esposito: SInAPSi Center, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Napoli, Italy
Fabrizio Mezza: SInAPSi Center, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Napoli, Italy
Roberto Vitelli: Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Napoli, Italy
Vincenzo Bochicchio: Department of Humanities, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Nelson Mauro Maldonato: Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Napoli, Italy
Anna Lisa Amodeo: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Napoli, Italy

Social Sciences, 2020, vol. 9, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: Bisexual people are a strongly stigmatized population experiencing health disparities caused by social stigmatization. The predominant framework helping to understand these health disparities and the impact of stigma on mental health of social groups belonging to a sexual minority identity constitutes the minority stress theory. In Italy, studies assessing this model in bisexual populations are very limited. Within this framework, the current study aimed at assessing in 381 Italian bisexual individuals (62 men and 319 women) the effects of anti-bisexual discrimination, proximal stressors (i.e., anticipated binegativity, internalized binegativity, and outness), and resilience on psychological distress. The results suggested that only anti-bisexual discrimination and internalized binegativity were positively associated with psychological distress, and that resilience was negatively associated with mental health issues. Furthermore, the results suggested that internalized binegativity mediated the relationship between anti-bisexual discrimination and mental health problems. No moderating effect of resilience was found. This is the first study to have thoroughly applied minority stress in Italian bisexual people, providing Italian clinicians and researchers with an outline of the associations between minority stress, stigma, resilience, and psychological distress within this population.

Keywords: minority stress; stigma; bisexual; resilience; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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