Citation

Pham MD, Borton JLS. Cultur. Divers. Ethnic Minor. Psychol. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues; American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/cdp0000576

PMID

36521137

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The present research aimed to examine, among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ +) people of color, whether experiencing discrimination rooted in one stigmatized identity (e.g., racial/ethnic minority identity) would be positively associated with expecting discrimination rooted in both the same (e.g., racial/ethnic minority identity) and different (e.g., sexual/gender minority identity) stigmatized identities, and whether such expectations would be positively associated with psychological distress. Endorsement of a lay theory of generalized prejudice (LTGP) was expected to moderate the relationship between experience of discrimination in one identity dimension and expectation of it in another.

METHOD: We recruited 246 LGBTQ + people of color (48.4% cisgender women, 24.8% transgender/gender-variant; M(age) = 23.84, SD = 4.73) to complete an online survey.

RESULTS: As hypothesized, more frequent heterosexism/cisgenderism was associated with greater racial/ethnic discrimination, which was associated with greater psychological distress. Likewise, experience of racism was positively associated with expectation of heterosexism/cisgenderism; however, expecting heterosexism/cisgenderism was not associated with psychological distress. Contrary to the hypothesis, only among people low (but not high) in LTGP was experience of racism or heterosexism/cisgenderism associated with the expectation of discrimination rooted in the other identity.

CONCLUSIONS: People high in LTGP may habitually expect discrimination regardless of their discriminatory experiences. By demonstrating the different pathways via which discrimination is linked with distress, this study highlights the benefit of intersectional research and underscores the need for systemic change to reduce discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Language: en