Internalised homophobia and HIV stigma: exploring the potential effect of double stigma on general and sexual well-being of gays and lesbians in Slovenia

The present paper is a summary of two studies carried out as a part of the Master Programme in Clinical and Health Psychology. The aim of Study 1 was to adapt and validate an instrument intended to measure a specific faucet of well-being—sexual self-esteem—to Slovenian language. The analysis of the psychometric properties (N = 435) indicated that the Slovenian version of Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory—Short Form was adequate and reliable. Based on these results, the instrument was deemed suitable for Study 2. Study 2 dealt with two principal objectives and was, thus, divided in two parts. The objective of Part 1 was to adapt and validate an instrument assessing stigmatising attitudes towards people living with HIV. Based on a sample of 302 people, the instrument provided sufficient evidence for its utility. The objective of Study 2—Part 2 (i.e., the main study) was to examine whether an important relationship exists between stigma towards homosexuality and HIV related stigma. A hypothesis of the ‘double stigma effect’ on general well-being (evaluated via depression) and sexual self-esteem was also tested. The analyses conducted on the final sample of 95 same-sex oriented Slovenians and subsample of men (n = 39) showed no significant correlations between the two stigmas. The results of the female participants (n = 53) did show a weak but significant association. No significant relations were observed between any of the two stigmas and depression. With regards to sexual health, a significant negative relationship was observed between the levels of internalised homophobia and sexual self-esteem. It was found that the presence of the former can be understood as a predictor of several dimensions of sexual wellbeing of homosexually oriented Slovenians. The hypothesis of the effect of the double stigma on both general and sexual well-being was rejected. ; O trabalho presente é um resumo de dois estudos realizados como parte do Mestrado em Psicologia Clínica e da Saúde. O objetivo principal do Estudo 1 foi adaptar e ...