Sexual Orientation

Sexual
Orientation
AND ITS IMPACT ON
HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY/
MENTAL HEALTH
What do we mean by
sexual orientation ?
Sexual orientation is the emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction
that a person feels toward another person.
Sometimes , sexual orientation has been measured by how
people define themsleves , sometimes by their sexual
experiences , and sometimes by thier attractions
These attractions are generally subsumed ubder 4 categories :

Heterosexuality
Homosexuality
Bisexuality
Asexuality
LGBTQ+
in simple terms , stands for Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,Transgender and Queer
A lesbian is a homosexual women who is romantically or
sexuallly attracted to other women
A gay is a homosexual man who is romantically or sexually
attracted to other men
Bisexuality is rom antic attraction ,sexual attraction , or
sexual behaviour toward both males and females , or roantic
or sexual attraction to people of any sex or gender identity
;this latter aspect is sometimes alternatively termed
pansexuality
Transgender people have a gender identity or gender
expression that differs from their assigned sex
Queer are people questioning their sexual identity
DO HOMOSEXUALS HAVE A CHOICE?
NO, Sexual preference is not biologically determined ,
homosexuality is an unalterable aspect of their identity
COMING OUT?
Coming out of the closet, or simply
coming out , is a metaphor for
LGBT people’s self - disclosure of
their sexual orientation or of their
gender identity
Coming out of the closet to
oneself, a spouse of the opposite
sex , and children can present
challenges
FACTORS IMPACTING MENTAL HEALTH
LGBT youth score higher on many of the critical universal risk
factors for compromised mental health, such as conflict with
parents and substance use and abuse (Russell 2003)
LGBT-specific factors such as stigma and discrimination and how
these compound everyday stressors to exacerbate poor outcomes.
At the social/cultural level, the lack of support in the fabric of the
many institutions that guide the lives of LGBT youth (e.g., their
schools, families, faith communities) limits their rights and
protections and leaves them more vulnerable to experiences that
may compromise their mental health.
LGBT youth who live in neighborhoods with a higher concentration of
LGBT-motivated assault hate crimes also report greater likelihood of
suicidal ideation and attempts than those living in neighborhoods that
report a low concentration of these offenses (Duncan & Hatzenbuehler
2014)
Positive parental and familial relationships are crucial for youth well-
being (Steinberg & Duncan 2002), but many LGBT youth fear coming
out to parents (Potoczniak et al. 2009, SavinWilliams & Ream 2003)
and may experience rejection from parents because of these identities
(D’Augelli et al. 1998, Ryan et al. 2009).
Protective measures(at a societal level )
Studies clearly demonstrate the benefit of affirming and protective school
environments for LGBT youth mental health. (Kosciw et al. 2014)
LGBT-focused policy and inclusive curriculums are associated with better

psychological adjustment for LGBT students (Black et al. 2012)
At the interpersonal level, studies of LGBT youth have consistently shown

that parental and peer support are related to positive mental health, self-
acceptance, and well-being (Sheets & Mohr 2009, Shilo & Savaya 2011).
Treatment measures
Medical treatment
Medical treatment of gender dysphoria might include:
Hormone therapy, such as feminizing hormone therapy
or masculinizing hormone therapy
Surgery, such as feminizing surgery or masculinizing
surgery to change the chest, external genitalia, internal
genitalia, facial features and body contour
Behavioral health treatment
Therapy might include individual, couples, family and
group counseling to help you:
Explore and integrate your gender identity
Accept yourself
Address the mental and emotional impacts of the
stress that results from experiencing prejudice and
discrimination because of your gender identity
(minority stress)
Build a support network
Develop a plan to address social and legal issues related to
your transition and coming out to loved ones, friends,
colleagues and other close contacts
Become comfortable expressing your gender identity
Explore healthy sexuality in the context of gender transition

Make decisions about your medical treatment options
Increase your well-being and quality of life

case study
Ms. T, a 24-year-old, an assigned female at birth, presented with a history of
strong desire to be a male right from her childhood. She would prefer to dress
like a boy, playing often the stereotyped “boyish” games along with other
boys. Her behavior was encouraged by her father as he did not have any male
children. As she grew up, she started to get attracted toward women and used
to consider her orientation as heterosexual with them. She used to constantly
feel that she was trapped in the wrong body. She strongly believed that she
had feelings and reactions just like the other men and was feeling helpless as
she was not able to lead a normal life like them. In her early twenties, she fell in
love with a woman and started to have a live-in relationship with her. She
considers it as a heterosexual relationship and reportedly identified herself as
the male partner of the couple.
However, of late, the other lady started to get attracted toward men
which the patient could not tolerate. She started to develop symptoms
such as irritability, worthlessness, hopelessness, suicidal ideas, and
suicidal attempts for the past 4–6 months. She expresses the desire to
get operated so as to become a man. She feels that her life is not worth
living as she is not a female but has to be trapped in a female body.
She was admitted in view of her suicidal ideas and attempts.
diagnoses and treatment
Psychometric evaluation revealed elevated scores on “depression,”
“anxiety,” “paranoid ideation,” and “schizophrenia” subscales of the
multidimensional personality questionnaire
Supportive psychotherapy was done to reduce depressive ideas, and

grief work psychotherapy was done to tackle with her feelings of loss of
spouse and separation from the partner.
The psychotherapy was continued for the next 3 weeks on outpatient

basis along with the SSRIs. Her depressive cognitions and suicidal
ideations decreased and her socio-occupational functioning improved
with the treatment
References
American Medical Association. 2015. Create an LGBT-friendly practice
Association of American Medical Colleges. 2015. Implementing curricular and
institutional climate changes to improve health care for individuals who are LGBT,
gender nonconforming, or born with DSD
Poteat VP, Espelage DL. 2007. Predicting psychosocial consequences of
homophobic victimization in middle school students. J. Early Adolesc. 27:175–91
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gender-dysphoria
Toomey RB, McGuire JK, Russell ST. 2012. Heteronormativity, school climates, and
perceived safety for gender nonconforming peers. J. Adolesc. 35:187–96
D’Augelli AR, Grossman AH, Starks MT, Sinclair KO. 2010. Factors associated with
parents’ knowledge of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths’ sexual orientation

Sexual Orientation

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Sexual

These attractions are generally subsumed ubder 4 categories :

LGBT-focused policy and inclusive curriculums are associated with better

At the interpersonal level, studies of LGBT youth have consistently shown

Become comfortable expressing your gender identity

Explore healthy sexuality in the context of gender transition

Increase your well-being and quality of life

Supportive psychotherapy was done to reduce depressive ideas, and

The psychotherapy was continued for the next 3 weeks on outpatient

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