A comparison of gay, lesbian and heterosexual individuals in terms of post traumatic embitterment and reaction to negative life events

This study aims to determine whether the Posttraumatic Embitterment levels of lesbian and gay individuals exhibit a significant difference based on sexual orientation or not. Further, the precursor effect between the participants' Posttraumatic Embitterment (PTE) and Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) scores and whether the discriminatory behavior faced by lesbian and gay individuals because of their sexual orientation influence their embitterment scores were examined. The sample group of the study consists of 241 individuals who live in İstanbul and were approached utilizing Snowball Sampling method. The distribution of participants according to their sexual orientation was identified as 81 (37,9%) gay, 56 (26,2%) lesbian and 77 (36,0) heterosexual. Relational Screening Model was used in the study. 'Personal Information Form', 'Posttraumatic Embitterment Disorder Self Rating Scale', 'Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R)', 'Beck Depression Inventory' and 'Beck Anxiety Inventory' were the designated data gathering tools. The data were analyzed with Kolmogorov – Smirnov Test, Pearson Correlation Analysis, Unpaired T-Test, Regression Analysis and ANOVA Analysis. Kruskal Wallis-H and Mann Whitney-U test were applied when the assumptions necessary for parametric tests were not met. The study has found that PTE scores significantly differ between LG individuals – heterosexuals, lesbian – heterosexual women and gay – heterosexual men. Lesbian and gay individuals were determined to have higher PTE scores in comparison to heterosexuals. Moreover, it was also found that there is a positive correlation between PTE and PTSD scores and that PTSD scores predict the PTE scores. The study has reached the conclusion that various sexual orientation-based discriminatory behaviors greatly affect the embitterment levels of lesbian and gay individuals.