University of Twente Student Theses
The Impact of Visibility and Representation on Minority Stress in Sexual Minority Athletes
Henk, A.C. (2024) The Impact of Visibility and Representation on Minority Stress in Sexual Minority Athletes.
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| Abstract: | Sexual minority individuals encounter added stress due to their minority status. This is particularly evident for sexual minority athletes, which is why this research attempted to investigate the relationship between perceived visibility and representation of sexual minority athletes and depression. Furthermore, the concealment of sexual identity was tested for mediation, since sexual minority athletes tend to conceal their identity as a result of increased discrimination and stigmatisation. Additionally, it was examined if the extent of athletic identity is associated with concealment. As the topic of sexual minority individuals in the sports context is understudied and research on visibility and representation of sexual minority athletes rare, this study aimed to fill this research gap. The study was a quantitative online survey, part of a larger study and was conducted with a final sample of 63 participants. The scales that were used for this study were the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure (GMSR), the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) as well as own items to measure perceived visibility and representation. Participants were mostly reached by personal distributions by the researchers. Results demonstrated a significant positive relationship between concealment of identity and depression (b=.190, SE=.079, t=2.393, p=.020), suggesting the disclosure of one’s sexual identity to increase mental health among sexual minority individuals across different contexts. For the other relations no significant result was found. Additionally, concealment was not found to mediate the relationship between visibility and depression. A major limitation of this study was the scarce research on the effects of visibility and representation of sexual minority individuals, which could have led to most associations being not significant. Therefore this research highlights the need for future research, which could focus on different variables such as social support or replicating this study as qualitative research. Keywords: visibility and representation, concealment of identity, mental health, athletic identity, sexual minority, mediation |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/100031 |
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