title: Forgive me Father for I have sinned: the role of a Christian upbringing on lesbian, gay, and bisexual identity development.
abstract: This study (n = 84) examined the extent to which a Christian upbringing may inhibit same-sex attracted individuals from accepting a lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identity. No significant differences were found between current and former Christians' positive or negative gay identities. Participants who had left Christianity were more liberal and viewed God as hostile. Participants' "outness" as LGB to their primary network was associated with a greater positive and lesser negative gay identity. Participants' LGB network size was not related to either their positive or negative gay identifications. Finally, the participants' sexual histories were not related to their negative identities, but were related to their positive identities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. jlapin9@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lapinski
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McKirnan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D002835:Christianity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012071:Religion and Sex; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult