How Does Religious Strain Affect Lesbian Gay and Bisexual individuals?

The objective of this study was to investigate whether there is a conflict between religious and sexual identities among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals and to explore the effect of this conflict on their psychological health. Based on a collection of qualitative and quantitative research, results from this study revealed the ways that religious strain and internalized homonegativity directly impact psychological health, as well as mediate and serve as risk factors for psychological outcomes among LGB individuals at differing stages of ''coming out''. Variations in how LGB individuals attempted to resolve or avoid conflicts between their religious and sexual identities were also observed. The long-term goal of this study was to provide therapists with greater insight into the relationships between religious strain, internalized homonegativity, and psychological health, and help improve quality of life among LGB individuals. This paper was selected to be presented at the American Psychological Association Conference in 2008.