Internalized Homophobia, Community Connectivity and Mental Health in a Sample of Brazilian LGB Individuals

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGB) may present lower levels of mental health than their heterosexual peers. Some factors can impact the mental health of LGBs, among them internalized homophobia (IH) and community connectedness (CC). This study studied HI and LGB CC indexes in a Brazilian LGB sample. Specifically, the objective was to verify the possible moderating effects of CC on the relationship
between HI and negative mental health outcomes. A total of 715 LGBs between the ages of 18 and 70 years (M = 24.14; SD = 7.18) participated in the study, answering on HI and CC with tools for mental health assessment. MANOVAS and path analysis were performed in order to test the proposed model. Lesbians had the lowest rates of HI, gays had the lowest rates of depression and anxiety and bisexuals had the lowest rates of CC. No significant relationships were found between the variables in path analysis. This may have occurred because of the context of the country’s public policies, sample characteristics and limitations
of the study itself.

Keywords: Internalized homophobia, community connectedness, mental health.