Internalized heterosexism refers to the internalization of societal stigma and negative attitudes toward same-gender sexuality, leading individuals to feel negatively about their own sexual orientation.
This self-stigma can cause significant mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, by undermining self-esteem and creating internal conflict, making interventions to reduce internalized heterosexism crucial.
Li, G., Archer Lee, Y., Lin, X., Krampitz, E., Atilla, G., Nguyen, K. C., Rosen, H. R., Tham, C. Z. E., & Chen, F. S. (2025). Self-affirmation reduces internalized heterosexism in sexual minority people. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 12(1), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000650
Key Points
- Focus: The main focus explored in this study is the effect of self-affirmation interventions on internalized heterosexism among sexual minority individuals.
- Aims: The research aimed to examine immediate and long-term effects of a self-affirmation intervention, exploring its efficacy in reducing internalized heterosexism, and to investigate the moderating effects of psychological and environmental threats.
- Findings: Self-affirmation significantly reduced internalized heterosexism immediately in one study and showed beneficial long-term effects after six weeks in another, particularly for individuals with higher baseline internalized heterosexism.
- Implications: Findings suggest self-affirmation is an effective, scalable psychological intervention that could widely reduce internalized heterosexism, potentially improving mental health equity among sexual minorities.
Rationale
Research highlights that sexual minorities disproportionately experience mental health challenges, primarily due to minority stressors like internalized heterosexism.
Although psychotherapeutic interventions exist, they are often inaccessible or uncomfortable for those reluctant to disclose sexual orientation.
Social psychological “wise interventions,” like self-affirmation exercises, offer brief, affordable, and easily accessible alternatives.
Despite theoretical relevance, few empirical studies have applied self-affirmation interventions specifically targeting internalized heterosexism among sexual minorities.
Prior research demonstrates self-affirmation’s success in reducing prejudice and stress, but its direct impact on internalized heterosexism remains understudied.
The next research step is testing these brief interventions’ immediate and sustained efficacy across diverse settings and populations, particularly focusing on psychological and environmental threat moderators.
Method
The study conducted two quantitative experiments employing randomized controlled trials.
Procedure
- Participants completed demographic questionnaires.
- Randomly assigned to self-affirmation or control conditions.
- Self-affirmation group wrote about personal core values; control wrote about least important values for others.
- Measured internalized heterosexism immediately (Study 1 and 2) and six weeks post-intervention (Study 2).
- In Study 2, participants used customized computer passwords reinforcing affirmations for extended effects.
Sample
- Study 1: 249 sexual minority U.S. adults, mean age 32.96, predominantly White (76.7%), majority cisgender women (63.9%).
- Study 2: 295 sexual minority first-year students from Canada and China, mean age 18.13, diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds (East Asian 36.6%, White 31.5%), predominantly cisgender women (76.6%).
Measures
- Short Internalized Homonegativity Scale: Assesses negative self-perceptions linked to sexual orientation.
- Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale: Evaluates internalized negative attitudes toward same-gender sexuality.
- Sexual Orientation Microaggression Inventory: Measures subtle forms of discrimination experienced by sexual minorities.
Statistical measures
- Independent samples t-tests and multiple regression analyses for intervention effectiveness.
- Moderation analysis to evaluate psychological and environmental threats.
Results
- Self-affirmation significantly reduced internalized heterosexism immediately post-intervention in Study 1.
- Long-term reductions at six-week follow-up were significant in Study 2.
- Effects were stronger for those with higher baseline internalized heterosexism.
- No significant moderation found for environmental threats (sexual orientation microaggressions).
Insight
The findings suggest that brief self-affirmation interventions effectively alleviate internalized negative attitudes among sexual minorities, particularly benefiting individuals experiencing greater self-stigma.
This study is informative by empirically demonstrating scalable, low-cost interventions capable of reaching marginalized populations typically underserved by traditional therapies.
Future research should further explore longer-term effects, replicate findings in diverse geographical contexts, and investigate the intervention’s impact specifically on transgender individuals.
Implications
Practitioners and policymakers can leverage these findings to implement scalable, accessible psychological interventions targeting internalized heterosexism.
Specifically, interventions can be integrated into university and online mental health services to improve mental health outcomes and reduce treatment access disparities.
However, challenges include ensuring sustained engagement with brief interventions and adapting affirmations culturally and contextually.
Strengths
This study had several methodological strengths, including:
- Utilized rigorous randomized controlled trial designs enhancing internal validity.
- Diverse international samples strengthened generalizability.
- Longitudinal follow-up allowed assessment of sustained intervention effects.
- Employed novel “password affirmation” method enhancing participant engagement and adherence.
Limitations
This study also had several limitations, including:
- Sample overrepresented cisgender women, limiting generalizability to other sexual minority groups.
- Short follow-up period (six weeks) limited insights into long-term efficacy.
- Limited sample size for Chinese participants restricted cross-cultural comparative analysis.
- Floor effects due to generally low baseline internalized heterosexism possibly obscured intervention effects.
Socratic Questions
- What are alternative explanations for why self-affirmation impacted internalized heterosexism?
- Could different demographic characteristics significantly alter the intervention outcomes?
- How might the intervention’s efficacy change if implemented in communities with higher stigma levels?
- What ethical considerations arise when broadly implementing self-guided psychological interventions?
- How might cultural variations affect the acceptability and effectiveness of self-affirmation interventions?
- Could integrating self-affirmation interventions within broader therapy frameworks enhance their impact?
- How might future studies address methodological limitations, such as sample diversity and longer follow-up periods?
