ABSTRACT

Numerous studies have determined that conversion therapy, a practice meant to change one’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, can be ineffective and severely harmful. However, few studies have documented the prevalence or characteristics of its survivors. This study is a quantitative analysis of the LGBTQ Institute Southern Survey that estimates the prevalence of conversion therapy (specifically SOCE) in the Southern United States and documents its significant association with negative mental health outcomes. Conversion therapy survivors comprised 7.6% of the sample (11.6% after listwise deletion). Respondents who were younger and reported being a gender minority; lesbian, gay, or some other sexual orientation; Hispanic; less educated; and less religious were more likely to have experienced it. Findings support previous studies which report a strong correlation between conversion therapy and poor mental health outcomes. Results regarding the prevalence and demographics of survivors offer new insights for further research.

摘要

许多研究已经确定，转换疗法，一种旨在将一个人的性取向改变为异性恋或性别认同为顺性别的做法，可能无效且严重有害。然而，很少有研究记录其幸存者的患病率或特征。这项研究是对 LGBTQ 研究所南方调查的定量分析，该调查估计了美国南部转换疗法（特别是 SOCE）的流行情况，并记录了其与负面心理健康结果的显着关联。转换治疗幸存者占样本的 7.6%（按列表删除后为 11.6%）。年龄较小且自称是少数性别的受访者；女同性恋、男同性恋或其他性取向；西班牙裔；受教育程度较低；不太虔诚的人更有可能经历过它。研究结果支持先前的研究，这些研究报告了转换疗法与不良心理健康结果之间的强相关性。有关幸存者患病率和人口统计的结果为进一步研究提供了新的见解。