Jessica Pistella

Assessing Prejudice Toward Two-Father Parenting and Two-Mother Parenting: The Beliefs on Same-Sex Parenting Scale

This article describes two interrelated studies that investigated beliefs and stereotypes on two-father parenting and two-mother parenting through the development and validation of the Beliefs on Same-Sex Parenting (BOSSP) scale. The BOSSP captures two beliefs: (1) prejudices toward same-sex couples’ inherent inability to parent and (2) concerns about same-sex parenting that are not necessarily related to homonegativity. In Study 1 (301 heterosexual participants), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) suggested an 11-item scale for attitudes toward both two-father families and two-mother families, with two factors: parenting skills, which evaluates beliefs on same-sex couples’ ability to take care of their children; and parental adjustment, which assesses beliefs on the impact of challenges related to same-sex parenting on children’s well-being. Support for convergent validity between BOSSP factor scores and those of theoretically related measures were provided. In Study 2 (346 heterosexual participants surveyed in two time points), CFA indicated that the two-factor model provided the best fit. Test-retest reliability and longitudinal invariance were documented. Finally, results revealed that more negative attitudes toward same-sex parenting were held by men than by women and were associated with negative opinions on reproductive techniques. The innovative characteristics of the BOSSP and implications for future practice are discussed.

Gender Roles and Internalized Sexual Stigma in Gay and Lesbian Persons: A Quadratic Relation

ABSTRACT Purpose: No previous research has deeply investigated the association between gay men and lesbians’ adherence to gender roles and their internalized sexual stigma. This study suggests a potential non-linear correlation between these factors. Methods: Seventy-five gay men and 70 lesbians responded to self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate linear, quadratic, and exponential models and to determine which model best explained the correlation. Results: The quadratic model best explained the correlation, showing no gender differences. Conclusion: Adherence to gender roles constitutes a relevant factor in predicting internalized sexual stigma.

Attitude toward Christianity, sexual orientation, and parental religiosity in a sample of Italian adolescents

Abstract Literature suggests that several demographic variables are linked with religiosity in adolescence, such as gender, age and parental religiosity. The sample consisted of 910 young people (53% female) between 14 and 19 years of age, attending secular secondary schools in Rome, Italy. They self-identified as heterosexual adolescents (91.6%), and lesbian/gay (LG) adolescents (8.4%). High scores of positive attitudes toward God, Jesus, the Bible, prayer and church were associated with female gender, higher father’s religiosity, and higher mother’s religiosity, but not with age of the participants. As expected, heterosexual orientation was associated with a more positive attitude toward Christianity, controlling for sex, age, and parental religiosity.

Forgiveness and religious practice: a study on a sample of Italian preadolescents

Abstract In this study we examined the gender differences in self-reported forgiving behaviours in a sample of Italian preadolescents (aged 11 to 14 years), who were either involved or not involved in religious practises. Were asked 289 Catholic, Italian preadolescent students were asked about their involvement in the religious practises. They also completed measures of forgiveness, avoidance and revenge motivations. The results showed that forgiveness was negatively correlated to avoidance and revenge, as expected, given that these constructs represent two different forms of non-forgiveness. Avoidance and revenge motivations were positively inter-correlated, highlighting how these forms of non-forgiveness are two distinct, but related pathways, leading away from forgiveness. Regarding age, younger participants reported higher degrees of forgiveness than their older counterparts. Lastly, regarding the association between involvement in one’s faith and gender as predictors of forgiving behaviours, only girls actively practising their faith emerged as significantly more forgiving than the other participants.

Sports as a risk environment: homophobia and bullying in a sample of gay and heterosexual men

Abstract Research on bullying and homophobic bullying has mainly focused on school contexts, with little research in sports-related contexts. This study used a sample of 88 gay males and 120 heterosexual males between 18 and 36 years of age to examine the frequency of bullying experiences in Italian sports-related contexts. The results showed that gay men reported more frequent bullying and homophobic bullying than heterosexual men. Gay men reported dropping out of sports more frequently due to a fear of being bullied and greater familial pressure to conform to masculine-type sports. It is necessary to promote safer sports-related contexts for people who self-identify as a sexual minority.

Lesbians’ Negative Affect Toward Sexual Minority People with Stereotypical Masculine and Feminine Characteristics

Abstract We investigated lesbians’ negative affect toward gay and lesbian scenarios with feminine/negative characteristics. Seventy-one Italian lesbians responded to self-report questionnaires. Analyses tested that feminine gay man scenario (GF) would elicit negative affect more than the other three scenarios (feminine/masculine lesbian woman and masculine gay man) and that participants’ internalized sexual stigma would be a moderator of the relation between their self-perceived femininity and negative affect. When lesbians reported low self-perceived femininity, stigma levels did not affect the evaluation of the GF. Instead, when self-perceived femininity were higher, lesbians with high stigma reported more negative emotions than lesbians with low stigma.

Atteggiamenti nei confronti di atleti gay, lesbiche e bisessuali che rivelano il proprio orientamento sessuale all’interno dei contesti sportivi

La letteratura scientifica riporta che i contesti sportivi sono generalmente ostili verso il coming-out (CO) di atleti gay, lesbiche e bisessuali (GLB). Il presente studio vuole indagare, in un gruppo di calciatori e calciatrici italiani, gli atteggiamenti nei confronti del CO nei contesti sportivi, in funzione del genere e dell’orientamento sessuale dei partecipanti. Gli atteggiamenti verso il CO da parte di atleti sono stati indagati mediante uno strumento costruito ad hoc. Un gruppo di 75 calciatori italiani (61.3% eterosessuali e 38.7% gay e lesbiche) e stato usato per verificare due ipotesi; (a) gli uomini e gli eterosessuali dovrebbero avere un atteggiamento piu negativo verso il CO nei contesti sportivi rispetto alle donne e alle persone GLB, rispettivamente; e (b) chi pratica sport a livello agonistico dovrebbe avere atteggiamenti piu negativi rispetto a chi lo pratica a livello amatoriale. Le analisi mostrano come gli uomini e le persone eterosessuali mostrano un atteggiamento maggiormente negativo verso il CO nei contesti sportivi rispetto alle donne e agli atleti GLB. Nessuna differenza e emersa tra giocatori professionisti e non professionisti. I risultati suggeriscono che gli atteggiamenti negativi verso il CO sono in stretta relazione a fenomeni quali l’eterosessismo e l’omofobia. Lo studio suggerisce la necessita di promuovere politiche antidiscriminatorie per ridurre il pregiudizio verso le persone GLB nei contesti sportivi.