"Gay and bisexual men (GBM) are at greater risk for adverse mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression). Minority stress theory, the psychological mediation framework, and the unified conceptual framework each provide important insights into the consequences of social stigma and the mechanisms through which stigma manifests as psychopathology. The present research integrates these models into a comprehensive framework to examine the effects of family-based heterosexism on current psychological wellbeing and experiences of shame in gay and bisexual men. Importantly, this research examines the moderating role of parental reactions to children’s disclosures of sexual orientation in conjunction with the mediating variables of internalized heterosexism and perceived sexual stigma, factors which have been implicated in adverse mental health outcomes and experiences of shame in sexual minority men. Participants were recruited through the University of Victoria’s psychology research participation website as well as through online reddit communities. The desired sample size is N = 400. Two moderated mediation models will be tested using conditional process analyses. We predict that parental acceptance will result in more positive outcomes (i.e., less internalized heterosexism/perceived sexual stigma, decreased psychological distress and experiences of shame). We further predict that perceived sexual stigma and internalized heterosexism will partially mediate the association between family based-heterosexism and psychological distress. Finally, we hypothesize that internalized heterosexism will partially mediate the association between family-based heterosexism and experiences of shame.

Graham Berlin, Lauren Matheson, MSc & Erica Woodin, PhD"