{"title":"Pain for pain: the benefits and challenges of BDSM participation for people with chronic pain - An exploratory study.","authors":"Reni Forer, Bryce Westlake","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2025.2507699","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19419899.2025.2507699","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Research is beginning to find that many BDSM (bondage/discipline, domination/submission, sadism/masochism) practitioners experience benefits beyond sexual pleasure. Additionally, given the relationship between pain and pleasure common in BDSM, there may be certain unanticipated benefits for practitioners reporting chronic pain (PRCP). We conducted an online survey of an international convenience sample of BDSM practitioners (N = 525). Participants were asked about self-perceived benefits and challenges related to participating in BDSM with CP. Using chi-square, independent sample t-test, logistic regression, and linear-by-linear association, responses were combined with demographics, participation timelines, co-participants, motivations, and frequency of activities to identify differences between PRCP and not reporting CP. PRCP do not appear to initially seek out BDSM for pain management but report both physical and mental benefits and identify mental health as a motivation for continued participation. Many PRCP also report at least some short-term pain relief resulting from BDSM participation. Importantly, they are more likely to engage in higher intense sensation activities (e.g. edge-play) more frequently. This study provides a foundation for further investigation into the nuanced relationship between CP and BDSM participation, especially in relation to the intensity and type of activities engaged in.</p>","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12435486/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145076580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Psychology & SexualityPub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-12-02DOI: 10.1080/19419899.2024.2436426
Ohshue S Gatanaga, Daniel Kwak, Sahnah Lim, Christian T Gloria
{"title":"The Relationship between Intersectional Discrimination and Mental Health Outcomes among LGBTQ+ Asians in New York City: An Exploratory, Mixed-Methods Study.","authors":"Ohshue S Gatanaga, Daniel Kwak, Sahnah Lim, Christian T Gloria","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2024.2436426","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19419899.2024.2436426","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>LGBTQ+ Asians are an under-researched population and face higher risk for mental health problems than heterosexual individuals due to intersectional discrimination and minority stress. This exploratory, mixed-methods study sought to understand associations between minority stress, intersectional discrimination, and mental health outcomes among LGBTQ+ Asians. Between 2022 and 2023, convenience sampling was used to survey 136 LGBTQ+ Asian residents of New York City. Controlling for demographics, logistic regression was used to compare the proportion of individuals with clinically-significant symptoms for major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and suicide risk by self-reported measures of discriminatory and microaggressive experiences towards LGBTQ+ people of color. A subsample of 24 individuals participated in semi-structured interviews that were conducted in English. Thematic content analysis was utilized to understand contextual factors and discriminatory experiences influencing LGBTQ+ Asian mental health. Individuals with higher levels of everyday discrimination had higher odds of exhibiting clinically-significant depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and suicide risk. Individuals with higher levels of racialized and LGBTQ-related microaggressions had higher odds of exhibiting clinically-significant depressive and anxiety symptoms. Among interviewed participants, predominant themes include social isolation, anticipated stigma attributed to discriminatory experiences within both LGBTQ+ and Asian communities, and pervasive impacts of racial and LGBTQ+ discrimination on mental health and self-worth. Findings reveal disparities in mental health outcomes among LGBTQ+ Asians, with differences based on levels of self-reported discrimination and targeted microaggressions towards LGBTQ+ racial/ethnic minorities. More research is needed to understand the causal and temporal mechanisms by which intersectional discrimination impacts LGBTQ+ Asians' mental health.</p>","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"16 2","pages":"390-404"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12233212/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144592911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Psychology & SexualityPub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2024-06-19DOI: 10.1080/19419899.2024.2369793
Charlie Giraud, Michael Newcomb, Sarah W Whitton
{"title":"Prospective Effects of Resilience on Mental Health among Sexual and Gender Minority Young People.","authors":"Charlie Giraud, Michael Newcomb, Sarah W Whitton","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2024.2369793","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19419899.2024.2369793","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals who are assigned-female-at-birth (i.e., sexual minority women, transgender men, and gender diverse individuals [SMWTGD]) experience an increased risk for negative mental health outcomes due to minority stress related to their minoritized identity. One proposed protective factor against negative mental health outcomes is resilience, which is one's ability to effectively achieve positive outcomes following stressful events. Past research shows cross-sectional associations between resilience and mental health in both the general population and SGM individuals. However, we know of no longitudinal research testing whether resilience prospectively predicts mental health, or whether the prospective associations between resilience and mental health differ by demographics. Self-reports of resilience, depression, anxiety, suicidality, and substance use were collected at two time-points 6 months apart from 453 SMWTGD late adolescents and young adults who reside in the Midwest region of the United States. Time 1 resilience was negatively associated with Time 2 depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, but not problematic substance use, controlling for Time 1 mental health. These associations were not moderated by demographic factors, suggesting that resilience operates consistently across most racial, sexual orientation, and gender identities within the SMWTGD community. These findings underscore the potential value of tailored interventions aimed at promoting resilience within SMWTGD.</p>","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"16 1","pages":"177-192"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11884740/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143588070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Panagiotis Pentaris, Lefteris Patlamazoglou, Jason Schaub
{"title":"The role of faith in the experience of grief among sexually diverse individuals: a systematic review","authors":"Panagiotis Pentaris, Lefteris Patlamazoglou, Jason Schaub","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2022.2057869","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2022.2057869","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This Prisma-compliant review summarises the intersections of faith, grief, and sexes, or sexualities. Following the protocol, the authors searched 11 electronic databases and three publisher collections. The search was limited to empirical research published in English between 1980 and July 2020 that explored the impact of faith, religion, or spirituality on the grief experiences of sexually diverse individuals. After reviewing abstracts and full texts, from a total of 5,670 papers, five met the selection criteria and were systematically reviewed and quality assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Thematic analysis found that rituals and rites of passage were seen to assist the sexually diverse bereaved in maintaining valuable connections with the deceased, accepting the finality of the loss, accessing social support, and making meaning through bereavement. Prominent in the reviewed literature were the strategies of spiritual coping, primarily by facilitated personal and spiritual growth, beliefs in spiritual transcendence, and spiritual resources. Of particular note, was that all the studies were conducted in the ‘90s and did not include transgender or nonbinary participants leading to significant gaps in our understanding. Further research is needed to investigate the current interplay between faith and grief across gender identity and sexuality spectrums.","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"24 1","pages":"640 - 656"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139324230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do attitude functions and perceiver demographics predict attitudes towards asexuality?","authors":"B. J. Rye, Rebecca Goldszmidt","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2023.2185534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2023.2185534","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Research indicates asexual individuals experience stigma. Addressing this phenomenon, this study examined attitude functions – experiential, social-expressive, ego-defensive, and value-expressive – in the prediction of attitudes towards asexuality. As well, demographic variables – participant gender, religiosity, and sexual orientation – were examined vis-à-vis asexuality attitudes. Herek’s Function of Attitudes Inventory assessed asexual attitude functions. General attitudes were assessed using the Attitude towards Asexuality scale, feeling thermometers, and semantic differential scales. Participants were asked to imagine developing a relationship with an asexual person; attitudes towards the asexual target were assessed by belief statements specific to the person, a feeling thermometer, and target-specific semantic differential items. On average, all asexuality attitudes measures were rated favourably. Men, religious individuals, and exclusively heterosexual participants were generally less positive in their asexual attitudes. While statistically significant, these demographic differences were quite weak. Participants generally denied the attitude functions as the basis for their asexuality attitudes. The ego-defensive attitude function was strongly predictive of all asexual attitudes measures. The value-expressive function was a significant but small multiple regression predictor of some asexual attitudes. Understanding attitudes towards asexuality would be advanced by further consideration of how the attitude serves the social perceiver.","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"22 1","pages":"572 - 592"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74290496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Holding hands: LGBTQ people’s experiences of public displays of affection with their partner(s)","authors":"P. Rohleder, Róisín Ryan-Flood, Julie M. Walsh","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2023.2185533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2023.2185533","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Many LGBTQ individuals grow up with a sense of being ‘other’ in a heteronormative society. This is not just an internal psychological experience, as many LGBTQ individuals report being recipients of hostility, victimisation and harassment. Interpersonally, homophobia and transphobia (both actual and fear of) may play out between partners and inhibit partners from commonplace displays of affection (e.g. holding hands in public). Holding hands in public, a taken-for-granted act of interpersonal affection for many heterosexual couples, may carry particular anxieties and/or significance for LGBTQ partners. This article reports on findings from a research project that explored 27 participants’ personal experiences of holding hands with their partner(s) in public, utilising a participatory, creative research approach. The analysis of data identified themes of vigilance, daily inhibitions, partner negotiations, inside/outside boundaries, and community dilemmas.","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"8 1","pages":"559 - 571"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82689662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Changing beliefs about gender: the relation between contact with gender nonconforming individuals and gender essentialism","authors":"R. Fine, S. Gelman, Arnold K. Ho","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2023.2181706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2023.2181706","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Increasing numbers of individuals are openly identifying outside of the gender binary, which may have broader effects on how people view gender. Little research has examined how contact with gender nonconforming (GNC) individuals may influence others’ conceptualisations of gender. Through seven studies with 2,547 participants, we found that contact with GNC individuals corresponded to reduced gender essentialism. In two correlational studies, we found that contact with GNC people predicted reduced gender essentialism even when controlling for sexism and contact with women. In a series of four experimental studies, we found some evidence that imagining contact with a GNC person resulted in significantly less gender essentialism than imagining contact with a woman, though this was not consistent across studies using other types of control conditions. In a final study, we found that media contact with either a trans man or a genderfluid person reduced gender essentialism compared to contact with a cisgender man, demonstrating that contact effects generalised across exposure to different types of gender identities. This work suggests that a person’s conceptualisation of gender may be changed through contact with GNC people.","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"10 1","pages":"542 - 558"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87656157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lucy Sessions, Alastair Pipkin, Aimee Smith, Christina Shearn
{"title":"Compassion and gender diversity: evaluation of an online compassion-focused therapy group in a gender service","authors":"Lucy Sessions, Alastair Pipkin, Aimee Smith, Christina Shearn","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2023.2181097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2023.2181097","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people may experience minority stress and internalised transnegativity, leading to increased psychological distress. Self-compassion has been suggested as a protective factor which can buffer against the impact of minority stress and stigma. This service evaluation study examined the outcomes of a novel compassion-focused therapy group intervention delivered online in a Gender Service. Twenty-one TGNC adults participated in the group and completed pre-group and post-group measures of psychological distress, internalised transnegativity, and compassion to self, to others, and from others. Participants had high levels of psychological distress and low levels of self-compassion pre-group. At the group level, there was a significant increase in levels of compassion to self and from others, and a significant decrease in pride (reverse scored) and alienation internalised transnegativity subscales. At an individual level, compassion to self and compassion from others were the most frequent areas where significant change was observed post-group. The compassion-focused therapy group appears to be effective in increasing levels of self-compassion and reducing aspects of internalised transnegativity, but without clear impact on psychological distress. This is preliminary evidence in support of the use of compassion-focused therapy groups within gender services, but further research is warranted and encouraged.","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"37 1","pages":"528 - 541"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91048224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Functional, communicative, and hybrid barriers to accessing mental health care in LGBTQ+ communities","authors":"R. Crawford, K. Schuller","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2023.2181096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2023.2181096","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Understanding how LGBTQ+ populations experience common mental health care barriers reveals uncommon ways these barriers interact, layer, and compound to increase health disparities. This mixed methods study organised 250 open ended responses into 30 codes situated along a functional to communicative spectrum. The codes revealed sub-categories and relationships between barrier groupings which highlight ways mental health care obstacles for sexual and gender minorities span categories and are operationalised in unique ways that compound constraints. Organizing LGBTQ+ mental health care access obstacles along a continuum that spans functional barriers (i.e. time, money, transportation) to communicative ones (i.e. stigma, trust) revealed a hybrid category (i.e. providers, bureaucracy) where functional and communicative barriers overlap, mesh and operate simultaneously. Lack of access to trained mental health care providers who offer affirming, appropriate care sits at the centre of this web of constraints and as such is influential in a wide array of mental health care issues. Prioritising mental health care workforce training in LGBTQ+ specific competencies has the potential to create a ‘ripple effect’ that mitigates interconnected mental health care barriers throughout this spectrum.","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"82 1","pages":"513 - 527"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84364348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Associations with LGBTQ+ mental health disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Sarah E. Victor, Terry H. Trieu, N. Seymour","doi":"10.1080/19419899.2023.2179938","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2023.2179938","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has created tremendous, and unequal, burdens on mental and physical health throughout the United States. Prior work suggests that LGBTQ+ individuals have experienced disproportionate harms during the COVID-19 pandemic, but potential mechanisms underlying these disparities remain unclear. In a large (N = 893) sample of US LGBTQ+ adults, we examined four theoretically derived risk factors as potential contributors to depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation during the summer of 2020. Stressors and disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were common, with over 25% of participants experiencing changes in their living situation, 40% reporting interruptions in health care access, and high levels of stress due to social isolation, financial concerns, and increased mental health symptoms. We found that social disconnection, disruptions in health care, financial strain, and efforts to avoid disclosing one’s sexual orientation or gender identity at home were each associated with poorer mental health, with the largest effects evident for identity disclosure avoidance. Transgender and non-binary adults reported poorer mental health overall, but gender identity did not moderate the effects of other tested risk factors. Results highlight the importance of considering LGBTQ+ mental health in the context of minority stressors, in addition to more general social determinants of health.","PeriodicalId":51686,"journal":{"name":"Psychology & Sexuality","volume":"65 1","pages":"495 - 512"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76908299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}