This project will develop a preliminary theoretical model to explain the psychological consequences for lesbians and gay men of being victimized through a hate crime. Data will be collected through self-administered questionnaires (SAQ) and face-to-face interviews (FTFI) with a large and diverse community sample to describe: (1) the prevalence of victimization through various forms of anti-gay and anti-lesbian violence in a particular city; (2) the demographic, psychological, and social correlates of different types of such victimization; (3) the psychological consequences of different types of hate-crime victimization; and (4) the effects of theoretically-relevant variables on those consequences, including: (a) various coping and attributional strategies, (b) beliefs about victimization, (c) commitment to a gay/lesbian identity, (d) support from gay and nongay social network members, and (e) involvement with the gay/lesbian community. The four-stage, four-year project will yield both retrospective and prospective data. Stage 1 will comprise pretesting and refinement of measures with a gay/lesbian community sample, as well as extensive community liaison and recruitment. Stage 2 will be a large-scale retrospective study using SAQ data from approximately 2300 gay male and lesbian residents of the greater Sacramento (CA) area. In addition to permitting assessment of the relationship between victimization experiences, psychological functioning, and mediating variables, Stage 2 will yield the samples for subsequent stages. In Stage 3, interviews will be conducted with three matched subsamples from the Stage 2 sample (approximate n = 150 each): respondents who experienced recent (less than 1 year) antigay victimization; those who experienced other criminal victimization; and nonvictims. The FTFI will permit assessment of coping strategies and social support, as well as more detailed assessment of prior stressful events, victimization, lesbian/gay identity and community involvement, and psychological functioning. Stage 4 will comprise a prospective study of the effects of victimization: All respondents from Stage 2 will complete a follow-up questionnaire approximately one year later (after attrition, expected n = 2000). Changes in psychological functioning (from Stage 2 to Stage 4) will be compared for respondents who report victimization at Stage 4, those who reported victimization at Stage 2, and those who report no victimization.
| Herek, G M; Gillis, J R; Cogan, J C (1999) Psychological sequelae of hate-crime victimization among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults. J Consult Clin Psychol 67:945-51 |
