Keywords

SGM; LGBT+; Religiosity; Spirituality; Identity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible relationship between religiosity and spirituality as separate factors and its effects on the sexual gender minority community (SGM) regarding identity distress and identity commitment to aid in SGM identity and religious identity integration. It was investigated whether spirituality could moderator the negative effects of religious rejection for the SGM community regarding identity distress, and identity commitment. A comparison between the non-(SGM) community and SGM was included. This study viewed multiple different aspects of religiosity such as religious rejection, current religious practices, and centrality of religion in one’s life as well as different aspects of spirituality via two different measures. Students at the University of Central Florida (N=346) participated in the online anonymous survey for psychology course credit. When comparing the two groups, the results indicated that the non-SGM community scored significantly higher in spirituality and identity commitment, but those in the SGM community scored higher in religiosity as well as identity distress. Contrary to what was predicted, there was no significant association between religious rejection and identity distress for the SGM community. However, there was a positive correlation between religious rejection, identity commitment, and identity integration. As for identity commitment and identity distress in the SGM community, spirituality had a partial effect on identity commitment and religiosity did not appear to have an effect. For the non-SGM community, spirituality had a positive correlation with identity commitment and a negative correlation with identity distress meanwhile religiosity was only significantly correlated with identity commitment. Spirituality was not a moderator for the SGM community; however, it was a moderator for the non-SGM community. Further findings and their implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Thesis Completion Year

2024

Thesis Completion Semester

Summer

Thesis Chair

Berman, Steven

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Thesis Discipline

Psychology

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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Rights Statement

In Copyright