Mental Health, Chastity, and Religiosity in a Population of Same-Sex Attracted Men

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between mental health, chastity and religiosity in a population of same-sex attracted (SSA) men who seek chastity. The SSA respondents had more mental health distress than the heterosexually orientated, normative sample. Those SSA respondents who were more-chaste had an improvement in their overall mental health. Measures of authentic spirituality were also positively correlated to increased mental health. Positive correlations were also found between chastity, religious participation and self-reported measures of happiness. This study employed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), the Spiritual Assessment Inventory (SAI) and the Courage Background Questionnaire (CBQ), an instrument designed for this study. The respondents were members of a Catholic spiritual support-group, Courage. Some researchers have concerns that such religious mediated support groups that do not condone homo-genital activity may have a detritus impact upon homosexually orientated persons. These findings raise questions regarding such assumptions.