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Predicting Self‐Esteem, Well‐Being, and Distress in a Cohort of Gay Men: The Importance of Cultural Stigma, Personal Visibility, Community Networks, and Positive Identity
Author(s) -
Frable Deborrah E. S.,
Wortman Camilla,
Joseph Jill
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00328.x
Subject(s) - psychology , cohort , stigma (botany) , distress , clinical psychology , self esteem , cohort study , ethnic group , checklist , developmental psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , sociology , cognitive psychology , pathology , anthropology
ABSTRACT Homosexual and bisexual men ( N = 825) enrolled in the Multi‐center AIDS Cohort Study in Chicago completed a 90‐minute self‐administered questionnaire that included the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale, a Well‐Being Index, and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Participants indicated their experiences with gay stigma, their visihility as gay men, their involvement in the gay community, and their commitment to a positive gay identity. Data from this predominantly white, young, educated, and tniddle‐class cohort are consistent with a structural model in which cultural stigma is negatively asso‐ciated with positive self‐perceptions. This within‐group result contrasts sharply with between group results that indicate our gay cohort was neither particularly low in global self‐esteetn nor high in psychological distress when compared to nonstigmatized samples.