Health Sexuality Research Paper on Homosexuality

Health Sexuality Research Paper on Homosexuality

Introduction

Homosexuality has attracted debates and controversies in its causes and the acceptable ways to provide therapies. This is because globalization and technological advances have impacted on the ideology. This paper will provide an overview of ten reviewed sources on the homosexuality and the importance of the availed information for the therapists and clients in decision making.

Summary of Article One

According to Moleiro and Pinto (2015), there have been different debates on the history of psychopathy with regards to gender identity and sexual orientation.  The mentioned are still discussed on gender reformations. Additionally, there is immense discrimination of the bisexual, lesbian, gay and transgender people and this has made them suffer from stigma and social exclusion.  They also suffer from psychological and physical abuse, persecution, economic alienation or bullying. Moleiro and Pinto (2015) further adds that the group can suffer discrimination in other areas such as interpersonal relationships, education, employment, and healthcare.  The cases involving discrimination and stigmatization place the LGBT populations at higher risks of suffering from mental distress. The mentioned further puts them at risk of traumatic stress reactions, suicide, anxiety disorders and other major depression disorders. Some even opt for substance abuse.

 How the Therapist Might Use the Information

The therapist might understand that higher rates of suicide are due to discrimination and social stigmatization.  This will make the therapist to know the reasons why LGBT populations suffer from mental illness. The therapy should assist them to cope up with stigma and discrimination that lead to mental illness. Additionally, the knowledge will assist the therapists to have a positive attitude about the sexual experiences of the population and hence assist them to look for an appropriate therapeutic process for the affected population. It will further allow the therapists not to change the population into heterosexual but rather understand them.

Clients Making Wise Decisions

The information might assist the clients to make right decisions when dealing with stigma and discrimination due to their sexual orientation. They will learn to cope with the experiences and accepts themselves. This will assist them in dealing with various issues that can impact on their mental health.

Summary of Article Two

Assi (2012) in his article examines the attitude of the Lebanese adults on homosexuality. Presently, the attitude towards homosexuality has changed due to globalization and technology. There are different attitudes among nationalities. However, the author explores whether the homosexuality is due to environmental or biological factors. Assi (2012) further highlights that homosexuals are at high risks of substance abuse and other psychological symptoms. Additionally, there are different health effects associated with homosexuality. According to reports on the HIV, statistics show that homosexuals are at high risk of suffering from sexually transmitted diseases (Assi, 2012).  The study’s findings showed that there are positive attitudes on homosexuality among the urban Lebanese dwellers compared to the rural ones. This is because rural people are more conservative. Additionally, there are three major religious groups in Lebanon which forbid homosexuality.

How the Therapist Might Use the Information

The therapists can use the society’s attitude towards the homosexuals and apply with right therapist process. For example, the therapist can educate them on the various reasons why the society has different attitude towards their sexual orientation. This will make them understand and hence learn how to cope with the different attitudes. The information will also assist the therapist not to change their sexual orientation but rather understand them and adopt the best therapeutic process for them to deal with issues that affect them such as mental problems, substance abuse and educate them on the importance of practicing safe sex.

 Clients Making Wise Decisions

The information will assist the client in making wise decisions. First, the client will understand the reasons behind the society’s attitude towards their sexual orientation. This will assist them to cope well in the society.

Summary of Article Three 

Collier, Bos and Sandfort (2012) focused on how the contact with lesbians and gay persons impact on the attitudes of the adolescent towards them. They further explored whether the association is moderated or mediated by their acceptance to gender non-conformity. The authors also explore the risks associated with homosexuality and argue that they are more at risks compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Some of the negative health outcomes are sexual risk behaviors, substance use, poor school performance, suicidal behavior and overall mental health problems. The researchers further indicated the factors that contribute to the difference in attitude towards this population and this included: traditional gender norms and ethnicity. Therefore, the major focus of the study is the difference in attitudes and how it affects the target population.

How the Therapist Might Use the Information

Therapists deal with different problems that affect the LGBT populations. Therefore, it is important for them to understand the society’s attitude towards them clearly. Understanding the attitude will make them use the best strategies to help them deal with discrimination and social stigma. Consequently, because attitude is linked to stigma and other forms of discrimination, which make the group to involve in risky behaviors, the therapist will focus on the importance of educating the LGBT group on the necessity of accepting others attitude towards them.

 Clients Making Wise Decisions

There are various reasons why the client should understand and accept the society’s attitude towards their sexual orientation. This will make them cope well and improve their social relationships with others and have minimal chances of developing mental problems. Additionally, they will appreciate the views of other. More importantly, the information is important in that they will understand that people are different in their sexual orientation.

Summary of Article Four

Su, et al., (2016) talk about the prevalence of male and female homosexuality in the LGBT population. Besides, the study focuses on enhancing the healthcare of the LGBT populations. This is because they are more at risk of developing sexual and mental health diseases.  The authors further talked about the health disparities among this population and the importance of clinicians being informed about the health needs of the LGBT groups. This is because there has been a long history of the snit-LGBT bias in the sector and this has impacted on the healthcare seeking access and behavior of the LGBT groups despite the changing attitudes and increased social acceptance. The authors focus on the importance of ending the LGBT invisibility in the healthcare sector. This can only be achieved if the clinicians identify the gender identity and sexual orientation of their patients during diagnosis and then apply the obtained knowledge in addressing the issues that affect the patients.

 How the Therapist Might Use the Information

The information will help the therapist on the importance of providing culturally-competent care to the LGBT group. They will learn the importance of understanding the cultural context before administering the therapies. Moreover, the therapists should understand the histories without being judgemental and reflect on the different personal attitudes that might deter them from providing a holistic therapeutic process to their patients.

 Clients Making Wise Decisions

The information will assist the clients to open up without fear of being judged negatively based on their sexual orientation. This will help the healthcare sector to assist them to deal with various issues that affect their daily lives. Therefore, they will less likely suffer from stigma due to their sexual orientation. Lastly, they will practice sex safe, hence be at less risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

Summary of Article Five

Hunter (2012) talks about the impact of the same sex on the future marriages and argues that there are more questions than answers on the same.  According to the author, there are implicit and explicit cultural markers which have shaped the heterosexual relationships, and this is characterized by changes, which are related to gender norms and expectations in the society.  For both straight and gay couples, the decisions to marry are more complex and are only made when other options are also possible within the marriage institution.  Whether to marry has remained a big question that straight and gay couples shared and perceive as an important concern.  In sum, the author points out that there are gay and straight couples are linked to different family forms in the American society. There are also issues associated with economic changes and this impacts on the economic formation.

 How the Therapist Might Use the Information

The information will assist the therapist to understand how homosexuality affects the present and the future marriages. This will assist the therapists to learn how to deal with issues in marriages that are associated with gays. For instance, if one partner is straight and the other one is gay, the chances of the marriage surviving is slim especially if disclosure of the sexual orientation was not done at the beginning of the relationship.

Clients Making Wise Decisions

The information will assist the clients in different ways. First, they will understand how gay marriages will impact on the future institutions. Additionally, the therapists will have a clear idea how to deal with issues related to gay marriages.  Moreover, some gay couples opt for the marriage because of economic changes. This information might help in change the sexual orientation of the couple if the reason was on economic aspects.

Summary of Article Six

Gates (2012) in his study indicates that the population of LGBT in the American society is rising steadily.  The study focuses on the identity of the LGBT groups and provides different reflections on how the demographics. He argues that the demographers might perceive the LGBT identify idea differently compared to social scientists and lawyers. This is because the focus of the demographer is more population based.  The focus of the article was on the concordance of identity and sex of the identified partners and the existing variance across different time intervals. Therefore, the author explores the timing of the behavior and the degree of the attraction between the affected partners. He emphasizes that some elements of gender expression and identity could benefit from conceptual clarity. This is because some people use the sexual orientation of attraction, behavior, and identity.

 How the Therapist Might Use the Information

The information is important to the therapists because he/she will be in a position to understand the various constructs of sexual orientation. There is the behavior construct that only focus on how people express their gender to other. This can entail the medical or surgical procedures or simple changes in one’s physical appearance.  Sexual attraction entails an individual’s internal sex of his/her sexuality, and this can be compared to how people construct their gender identity. Therefore, in formulating the therapeutic process for every client, the therapists will put into consideration the different sexual orientation constructs.

 Clients Making Wise Decisions

The client will be able to identify his/her sexual orientation construct, and this will assist with the demographics. Additionally, some constructs are simply because of behavior, and this can be changed and the related stigma and discrimination dealt with.

Summary of Article Seven

Ngun and Vilian (2014) points out that sexual orientation is one of the biggest differences in the human population and the number is steadily rising due to globalization and technological advances. Nonetheless, there is a percentage of the homosexual or bisexual individuals who are attracted to same-sex marriage. The origin of homosexuality is still a subject of scientific study.  This article explores the concept that homosexuality has different biological underpinnings and epigenetic mechanisms are involved. It explores different studies that emphasize that sexual orientation is linked to genetic components and prove that sexual orientation is concordant with twins. The study took into consideration women characterized with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Ngun & Vilian (2014) in their study indicates that homosexuality has shown substantial heritability in both males and females. The individual’s genes dictate one’s sexual orientation.

 How the Therapist Might Use the Information

This information is important to the therapist in that he/.she will understand that homosexuality has biological underpinnings, and hence they should not try to change the sexual orientation of their patients during the therapy sessions. Additionally, the therapists will relay the same information to their clients. This will assist the clients to understand their sexual behavior without blaming themselves.

 Clients Making Wise Decisions

The information will assist clients to understand that biological mechanisms affect their sexual orientation, however, this is different between the sexes. Additionally, it will make the client understand that there are no gay genes, straight female genes or straight male genes or lesbian genes. In other words, there are networks of genes that underpin individual’s sexual orientation. Understanding the mentioned concepts is important for the client. This is because the client will stop blaming herself based on sexual orientation.

Summary of Article Eight

Cardoso (2013) in his article talks about the existing connection between gender identification and sexual orientation among males with a case study of Brazil., Thailand and Turkey. According to the author, there are different factors that contribute to homosexuality among the identified groups. However, it is challenging to pinpoint one single cause.  The risk factors among the groups remain the same, and these include substance abuse, sexual diseases, mental illness and social discrimination among other risk factors.  The author further explores the link between sexuality and culture and emphasizes that to a greater extent culture also influences people’s sexual orientation. This is evident while comparing the gay prevalence in men among Turkey, Thailand and Brazil populations.

 How the Therapist Might Use the Information

The relationship between culture and homosexuality is important for the therapists. This is because the therapists will understand how culture contributes to homosexuality. IT also helps the therapists to understand how culture can be included in the therapy strategies. This will assist in dealing with the client problems without being judgemental and treating every case as unique.

 Clients Making Wise Decisions

Every client has different values and norms due to culture, and this is also reflected in their sexual orientations. Among some cultures, homosexuality is acceptable while in some it is a taboo even to mention it.  Additionally, there are unique cultures that are common with all the homosexuals regardless of the nationality. Therefore, the client will learn the importance of respecting other cultures and their attitudes towards homosexuals. This will also protect the client from running into different problems such as persecution due to public display of their sexual orientation. Lastly, it will assist the client to embrace the different cultures on homosexuality and deal with related attitudes.

Summary of Article Nine

Leca, Gunst, and Vasey (2014) in their work examines the sexual behavior of the male homosexuals a case study of Japanese. According to the authors, the male homosexuals are likely to abuse substances due to social stigma and discriminations. Additionally, they are prone to different health problems such as anxiety and depression, and there are rising cases of suicide among the population. Furthermore, the group practice safe sex hence they are more at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. This can be linked to the findings that indicate that the mentioned population are less likely to seek medical attention in case of infections. The article’s findings indicate that the population fear societal judgment and tend to hid their sexual orientation. This has further impacted on the demographics.

How the Therapist Might Use the Information

Understanding the behavior of the male Japanese male homosexuals is important for the therapists because he/she will custom the therapeutic sessions based on their needs. Additionally, during the sessions, the therapist will treat each case as a having a unique behavior. This is important in that the therapist will address all the clients’ needs because grouping the behavior has its limitations.

Clients Making Wise Decisions

Understanding the behavior of others is important. This is because the client will learn to appreciate others attitude towards his sexual orientation, hence make the right decision during counseling sessions without external influence.

Summary of Article Ten

Savin-Williams and Vrangalova (2013) examines the heterosexuals as a unique sexual group. According to the authors, the sexual orientation of the heterosexuals is different from that of the homosexuals, and this is even seen in their sex practices. According to the authors, heterosexuals tend to practice sex safe and hence they are less at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases compared to the homosexual counterparts.  Additionally, the homosexuals are at less risk of exhibiting mental illness. This is because mental illnesses such anxiety and depression are due to stigma and social discrimination associated with homosexuality. In discussing the behavior of the heterosexuals, the authors elaborate the differences in attitude between homosexuals and heterosexuals.

 How the Therapist Might Use the Information

This information is important for the therapists because he/she will be in a position to identify the behavior peculiar to the heterosexuals and homosexuals and tailor the same into the therapy sessions. In other words, the therapists will be in a position to understand why some behavior are only present among the heterosexuals and not homosexuals and vice versa.

Clients Making Wise Decisions

The client will be in a position to understand the behavior of the heterosexuals and relate the same to their attitudes towards homosexuals. It is proven that understanding attitudes of others is important for the client because it contributes to self-appreciation and hence prevents different problems such as mental illness. This will further assist the client to make wise decisions without being swayed by either the society or the therapist’s view.

 

References

Assi, G. N. (2012). Attitudes of Lebanese Adults age 18-22 towards Homosexuality. American Academic & Scholarly Research Journal, 4(5), 1-6.

Cardoso, F. L. (2013). The relationship between sexual orientation and gender identification among males in a cross-cultural analysis in Brazil, Turkey and Thailand. Sexuality & Culture, 17(4), 568-597.

Collier, K. L., Bos, H. M., & Sandfort, T. G. (2012). Intergroup contact, attitudes toward homosexuality, and the role of acceptance of gender non-conformity in young adolescents. Journal of adolescence, 35(4), 899-907.

Gates, G. J. (2012). LGBT identity: A demographer’s perspective. Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, 45(3), 693-714.

Hunter, N. D. (2012). The future impact of same-sex marriage: More questions than answers. The Georgetown Law Journal, 100, 1855-1879.

Leca, J. B., Gunst, N., & Vasey, P. L. (2014). Male homosexual behavior in a free-ranging all-male group of Japanese macaques at Minoo, Japan. Archives of sexual behavior, 43(5), 853-861.

Moleiro, C., & Pinto, N. (2015). Sexual orientation and gender identity: review of concepts, controversies and their relation to psychopathology classification systems. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1-21.

Ngun, T. C., & Vilain, E. (2014). The biological basis of human sexual orientation: Is there a role for epigenetics. Adv. Genet, 86, 167-184.

Savin-Williams, R. C., & Vrangalova, Z. (2013). Mostly heterosexual as a distinct sexual orientation group: A systematic review of the empirical evidence. Developmental Review, 33(1), 58-88.

Su, D., Irwin, J. A., Fisher, C., Ramos, A., Kelley, M., Mendoza, D. A. R., & Coleman, J. D. (2016). Mental health disparities within the LGBT population: A comparison between transgender and nontransgender individuals. Transgender Health, 1(1), 12-20.

 

 
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