Award Date

12-15-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Renato (Rainier) Liboro

Second Committee Member

Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt

Third Committee Member

Lianne Barnes

Fourth Committee Member

Jason Flatt

Number of Pages

84

Abstract

Sexual minority (SM) individuals are at an elevated risk for suicidality, particularly those who hold multiple marginalized identities, including religious and racial minority statuses. While religiosity is generally protective against psychological distress and suicide for heterosexual individuals, its impact on SM individuals is more complex. It may function as both a risk and a protective factor. The current mixed methods study explored the relationships between religiosity, internalized homonegativity (IH), and suicidality among an ethno-racially diverse sample of college students (n = 246). Quantitative analyses revealed that SM participants (n = 123) reported significantly higher rates of suicidality than their heterosexual peers (n = 123). While IH and strength of religious faith were individually predictive of suicidality, IH did not moderate the relationship between religiosity and suicidality. Exploratory results revealed that suicidality was positively correlated with difficulty acknowledging and accepting queer identity, attending affirming religious spaces was negatively correlated with acceptance concerns, and strength of religious faith was positively correlated with IH and concealment motivation. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses from SM participants identified two major themes: conflict between religious and queer identities and coping with that conflict. Within the first theme, participants described developing tension between their identities at a young age, feeling unwelcome by their own religion, and internalizing religious stigma. Participants described changes to their faith, the importance of comforting and affirming religious spaces, and conflict resolution strategies within the second theme. These findings exemplify the complex role of religion in the lives of SM individuals and point to the importance of affirming religious environments, culturally competent mental health care, and continued dedication to suicide prevention interventions for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Keywords

Faith; Internalized Homonegativity; LGBTQ+; Religion; Sexual Minority; Suicidality

Disciplines

Applied Behavior Analysis | Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

File Format

PDF

File Size

1311 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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