Eşcinsel ve biseksüel erkeklerin içselleştirilmiş homofobi düzeyi ve sağlık üzerine etkileri/The internalized homophobia level of the homosexual and bisexual men and its effect on the health

Ozet Amac: Cinsel yonelimleri sebebiyle escinsel bireyler; toplum tarafindan dislanmakta, yaftalanmakta ve ayrimciliga ugramaktadirlar. Toplumda escinsel bireylere karsi gelistirilen onyargi ve ayrimciligin; escinsel bireylerde duygu-durum ve anksiyete bozukluklarini, alkol-madde kotuye kullanimini ve intihar riskini artirdigi one surulmektedir. Bu sebeplerden dolayi escinsel bireylerin sorunlari bir halk sagligi sorunudur. Bu calismanin amaci; gey ve biseksuel erkeklerin icsellestirilmis homofobi duzeylerini ve ruh sagligina etkilerini saptamaktir. Yontem: Tanimlayici tipteki bu calismaya; Lambdaistanbul Derneginin yardimi ile kartopu yontemi ile ulasilan, 210 escinsel/biseksuel erkek dahil edildi. Veriler Istanbul ili Beyoglu Ilcesinde, 21 Nisan - 24 Haziran 2012 tarihleri arasinda, bireylere gozlem altinda anket uygulanarak elde edildi. Anket; sosyodemografik ozellikler, madde kullanimi, cinsel yonelimleri ile ilgili yasadiklari sorunlar ve intihar davranislarini kapsamaktaydi. Icsellestirilmis Homofobi Olcegi, Beck Depresyon Olcegi (BDO) ve Genel Saglik Anketi-12 (GSA-12) uygulandi. Bulgular: Katilimcilarin %21.9’unda icsellestirilmis homofobi vardi. Ailesi homofobik olan, escinselligi gunah kabul eden, her gun alkol kullanan bireyler kendi cinsel yonelimlerine karsi homofobik bulundu. Logistik regresyon analizinde; 25 yas uzerinde icsellestirilmis homofobi olma olasiligi azalirken, gey bireylerin icsellestirilmis homofobi yonunden biseksuel bireylerden daha riskli oldugu, egitimle icsellestirilmis homofobi riskinin azaldigi goruldu. Sonuc: Escinsel erkeklerin yaklasik beste birinde icsellestirilmis homofobi vardir. Toplumsal homofobinin azaltilmasina yonelik halk sagligi calismalarinin, escinsel bireylerin icsellestirilmis homofobilerinin azaltilmasina ve buna bagli olarak psikolojik ve fiziksel sagliklarinin gelisimine faydali olacagi dusunulmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Gey, biseksuel, icsellestirilmis homofobi, depresyon, Genel Saglik Anketi (GSA)-12 Abstract Objective: Homosexual individuals are often alienated and stigmatised by society and exposure to discrimination. The prejudice and discrimination coming from society are assumed to increase emotional and anxiety disorders as well as alcohol and substance abuse and the risk of suicide in homosexual individuals. Therefore, the problems of homosexual individuals are issues of public health. The aim of this study is to determine the internalized homophobia levels of gay and bisexual men and the impact of this on their mental health. Method: 210 homosexual or bisexual men, who were accessed by the snowball method, were included in this descriptive study with the help of the Lambda Istanbul Association. The data were collected by using a self-reporting questionnaire under supervision, in the Beyoglu District of Istanbul Province, between April 21 – June 24 2012. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics, substance abuse, problems relating to sexual orientation and suicidal tendencies. The internalized homophobia scale, the Beck depression scale and General Health Questionnaire-12 were applied. Findings: Of the participants, 21,9% had internalized homophobia. Individuals who have homophobic families, who believe that homosexuality is a sin and who use alcohol everyday were regarded as homophobic against their own sexual orientation. In a logistic regression analysis, it was found that whereas suffering from internalized homophobia decreases after the age of 25, gay individuals have more risk than the bisexual individuals of internalized homophobia and the risk of internalized homophobia declines with education. Conclusion: Almost one fifth of homosexual men have internalized homophobia. It is assumed that public health efforts towards decreasing the homophobia would be beneficial for decreasing the internalized homophobia of the homosexual individuals and in relation to this, would be beneficial for their psychological and physical improvement. Key Words: Gay, bisexual, internalized homophobia, depression, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12