Warning: Anti-Gay States May be Hazardous to Your Health

Living in an anti-gay state like Virginia - and there are others that are even worse - does take a toll on a person even when outwardly one has come to terms with the hostility that pervades the legal environment in which gays must live: no employment non-discrimination protections; no legal recognition of relationships; pervasive gay bashing for sport; and, of course, constant verbal assaults from Bible beaters. This reality was brought home to me recently when an outwardly very well adjusted gay couple I know remarked about how much they enjoyed traveling to more gay friendly destination where they felt free to just be themselves. A new study has confirmed what this couple and many others have felt: living in an anti-gay state increases stresses and can be harmful. Dr. Abbie Goldberg, assistant professor of Psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and JuliAnna Smith at the Center for Research on Families of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst have written a report on their study which appears in the in February 2011 issue of the Journal of Counseling Psychology, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Psychological Association. Keen News Service has a story on the report and here are some highlights:
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Same-sex couples with adopted children living in states with anti-gay adoption laws and attitudes had more mental health issues in their first year of parenthood than couples with adopted children living in more accepting states, a new study has found.
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Gay and lesbian adoptive parents living in states with unfavorable laws regarding adoption by gay people showed greater increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety (as measured by standard clinical scales) during the period of study than did individuals living in states with more favorable legal climates.
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The effect was most pronounced among those with high levels of internalized homophobia—which was assessed by a questionnaire asking participants how strongly they agreed with statements such as, “If someone offered me the chance to be completely heterosexual, I would accept the chance.”
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In comparison, individuals with high levels of internalized homophobia, but who lived in states with favorable legal climates, experienced decreases in symptoms of depression during the period of study.
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In addition to state legal climates, other factors in the study that predicted lower symptoms of depression and/or anxiety among new adoptive parents were workplace support, friend support, relationship quality, and family support.
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[S]everal previous studies have shown a general correlation between states with anti-LGBT laws and negative mental health in LGBT people. Most recently, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention released a comprehensive report on the causes of suicidal behavior in LGBT adolescents and adults. It concluded, “discriminatory laws and public policies have a profound negative impact on the mental health of gay adults.”
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And what's behind all these anti-gay laws? Christianists and professional Christians who work daily to subvert religious freedom in this nation.