The Moderating Effect of Filial Piety on the Relationship Between Perceived Public Stigma and Internalized Homophobia: a National Survey of the Chinese LGB Population

Introduction Previous studies demonstrated that public stigma significantly contributes to internalized homophobia for lesbian, gay, and bisexuals (LGBs). Filial piety plays an important role in Chinese LGBs’ response to stressors related to their sexual orientation, but it is unclear whether reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety moderate the effect of perceived public stigma on internalized homophobia. Methods A sample of 1453 (67.10% male; age: M = 25.16, SD = 5.60) Chinese LGBs participated in this study in June, 2019. They provided demographic variables and completed measures of perceived public stigma, reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety, and internalized homophobia. Results As expected, results from structural equation modelling analysis indicated that perceived public stigma and authoritarian filial piety had comparable and positive association with internalized homophobia. Reciprocal filial piety was negatively associated with internalized homophobia. In addition, the association between perceived public stigma and internalized homophobia was stronger when Chinese LGBs endorsed low reciprocal filial piety and high authoritarian filial piety. Conclusions These findings suggest that authoritarian filial piety may be a risk factor that amplifies the deleterious impact of public stigma on internalized homophobia. In contrast, reciprocal filial piety may be a resilience factor that mitigates the negative effect of public stigma on internalized homophobia. Policy Implications These findings implicate that efforts should be made to reduce the public stigma in China in order to reduce internalized homophobia. In addition, the nature and level of filial piety should be considered when providing psychotherapeutic interventions to Chinese LGBs, and funding for relevant research and practice should be supported.