LGB+ bireylerde psikolojik flört saldırganlığı: Başvurma, maruz kalma, içselleştirilmiş homofobi, bilişsel esneklik ve duygulanım ile bir yol analizi

The current study investigates the direct and indirect associations between positive affect, negative affect, psychological dating aggression victimization, cognitive flexibility, internalized homophobia, and psychological dating aggression perpetration among lesbian, gay, and bi+sexual individuals. The study sample consisted of 522 LGB+ individuals gathered from various online platforms. Turkish versions of the Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Internalized Homophobia Scale, Cognitive Flexibility Scale, and the Demographic Information form developed by the researcher were used for the data collection. Path analysis was used to test the proposed model, and independent samples t-test was used to analyze sexual orientation differences. The results of path analysis showed that the model has acceptable fit indices. Except for the paths from positive and negative affect to psychological dating aggression perpetration, all the other paths were statistically significant. Cognitive flexibility fully mediated the relationship between positive affect and psychological dating aggression perpetration. Similarly, internalized homophobia fully mediated the relationship between negative affect and psychological dating aggression perpetration. There was no significant difference between homosexuals and bi+sexuals regarding the psychological dating aggression perpetration. Furthermore, results showed high prevalence rates for both perpetration (88%) and victimization (87.8%). In conclusion, derived from normative creativity theory, cognitive flexibility and positive affect were protective factors for the perpetration of psychological aggression. From the minority stress perspective, negative affect and internalized homophobia appeared to be the risk factors. The findings, theoretical and practical implications, and recommendations for future research were discussed.