The Role of the Family for Sexual Minority Latinx Individuals: A Systematic Review and Recommendations for Clinical Practice

Abstract

Families of sexual minority individuals may serve a supportive role, however, they may also serve as another source of discrimination and rejection. Cultural beliefs may influence family members’ responses to sexual minorities. However, aspects of Latinx culture may be associated with family support of Latinx sexual minorities. We conducted a systematic review to examine the role that cultural values play in families’ response to Latinx sexual minority individuals. The following search terms were entered into the databases Web of Science, Psycinfo, and Pubmed: hispanic, latin*, lgb*, homosexual*, bisexual*, pansexual*, lesbian, gay, family, and community. Papers were excluded if they were not empirical, did not analyze Latinx data independent of other groups, did not have a sufficient sample size, or did not examine the role of the family. This resulted in 34 papers. Studies indicated that the family can serve a supportive role; however, Latinx values, such as familismo, were associated with a complex array of family responses to sexual minorities. Clinicians should consider the varied ways in which cultural factors may influence family responses to sexual minority individuals.