Measure of Internalized Sexual Stigma for Lesbians and Gay Men (MISS-LG) in Taiwan: Psychometric Evidence from Rasch and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Internalized sexual stigma may hamper the development of self-identity, social interaction, and intimate relationship in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. The Measure of Internalized Sexual Stigma for Lesbians and Gay Men (MISS-LG) is an important instrument assessing internalized sexual stigma for LGB individuals. However, its psychometric properties have not been examined in LGB populations outside the Italian community. The present study used advanced psychometric testing to evaluate the traditional Chinese version (the MISS-LG) among LGB individuals in Taiwan. LGB individuals (500 male, 500 female) participated in this study and completed the MISS-LG, HIV and Homosexuality Related Stigma (HHRS), and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ). Confirmatory factor analysis results confirmed the three-factor structure of the MISS-LG; however, two items for males and one item for females had somewhat low factor loadings on the sexuality factor. Each MISS-LG factor was found to be unidimensional in Rasch results, except for the slight misfit in Item 3 and concurrent validity of the MISS-LG was supported by the positive correlations with HHRS and the AAQ. The Chinese MISS-LG has relatively satisfactory psychometric properties. However, further research is needed to investigate the reasons for problematic fitting of several items.

Coming Out to Parents in Lesbian and Bisexual Women: The Role of Internalized Sexual Stigma and Positive LB Identity

The experience of “coming out” (CO) to parents is often a crucial event in the lives of lesbian and bisexual (LB) women, associated with lower internalized sexual stigma (ISS) and higher positive LB identity. Few studies have compared the experiences of LB women in the CO process. Rather, most prior research has either: (1) not addressed bisexuality or eliminated bisexual individuals from the analysis; (2) combined bisexual women and bisexual men in the same sexual orientation group; or (3) examined bisexual participants alongside lesbian women and gay men, using a single monolithic measure. Thus, the present research aimed at investigating the role of ISS and positive LB identity in inhibiting or encouraging CO to parents in a sample of 241 lesbian women (Mage = 27.61, SD = 7.19) and 186 bisexual women (Mage = 25.23, SD = 5.81), aged 18–40 years. Most participants reported that they had already revealed their sexual orientation to their mother (69%) and their father (52%). More lesbian women had CO to both their mother and their father than had bisexual women. These lesbian women reported lower levels of ISS and higher levels of LB positive identity relative to bisexual women. On average, CO to mothers occurred at age 20 (SD = 5.54), while CO to fathers occurred at age 22 (SD = 5.63). LB women did not differ in the average age of CO to mothers or fathers, or in parental reactions to CO. Finally, ISS was found to affect the process of CO to both parents via positive identity (bootstrapping estimate = −0.26, SE = 0.08, 95% CI = −0.43, 0.11), whereas sexual orientation was not found to moderate the path from ISS to CO to both parents. The present study contributes to our understanding of the differences between LB women when developing their sexual orientation, highlighting the relevance of a positive LB identity for CO to parents. Research and clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.