Lesbian and Gay Identity in Italy: The Roles of Minority Stress And Emotional Intelligence

• Grant number: 24/17103-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: December 14, 2024
• End date: June 13, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Human Development Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Fabiano Koich Miguel
• Grantee: Renita de Cássia dos Santos Freitas
• Supervisor: Luca Rolle
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Torino (UNITO), Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/07186-4 - Preventing dating violence in gay men, BP.MS

Abstract

Approximately one million adults identified as homosexual or bisexual in Italy, according to a 2012 survey. The results indicate that they experience greater discrimination at school, university, and work compared to heterosexuals. Lesbians and gay men belong to a stigmatized social category and are subjected to chronic psychological stress, known as minority stress. Internalized homonegativity and concealment are examples of proximal stressors, which are individual stress factors related to self-identification as sexual and gender minorities, as described in the Minority Stress Model. Studies in Italy have investigated the association of internalized homonegativity with emotion dysregulation, relationship satisfaction, social support, binge drinking, outness, and connectedness to the LGBTQ+ community. In the context of social sciences and humanities literature, few studies have analyzed the relationships between Emotional Intelligence constructs and LGBTQ+ issues. Given the scarcity of relevant literature and aiming to innovate by incorporating Petrides' perspective on Trait Emotional Intelligence, the current study was designed to explore the links between Minority Stress (Outness, Internalized Homonegativity and Experiences of Stigma) and Emotional Intelligence (Self-control and Well-being) in the development of lesbian and gay adult identity in Italy. Participants will be invited to complete an Internet-based survey containing questions about demographic information, dimensions of lesbian and gay identity, emotional intelligence, and minority stress. To test the hypotheses, statistical analyses will be conducted. It is anticipated that the relationships among the variables will highlight risk and protective factors for Italian lesbian and gay individuals.