Heterosexist microaggressions, student academic experience and perception of campus climate: Findings from an Italian higher education context

climate. There was only a marginal significant effect that linked microaggressions with nega- tive perceptions of campus climate (p = .06). Sexual orientation was not significantly associated with social integration dimensions or perceptions of campus climate. The mediation analysis highlighted two significant indirect effects: Heterosexist microaggressions were associated with negative perceptions of university climate through the decrease of interactions quality with peer (β = -.05, p = .001, 95% bootstrap C.I. [-.08, -.02]) and the faculty concern for student development and teaching (β = -.05, p = .001, 95% bootstrap C.I. [-.08, -.02]). The model Table 2. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations among study’s variables. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mean SD 1. Heterosexist Microaggressions (latent variable) 1 .01 -.02 -.32� -.62��� .24 -.16 .11 -.05 0 (.12) .93 (.19) 2. Peer-group interactions -.18��� 1 .31� .43��� .33� .21 -.26 .08 -.13 3.59 (3.35) .82 (1.02) 3. Interactions with faculty -.05 .22��� 1 .53��� .27� .02 -.04 .06 -.17 2.71 (2.77) 1.09 (1.09) 4. Faculty concern for student development and teaching -.19��� .25��� .46��� 1 .41��� .06 -.08 -.07 -.10 2.98 (2.95) .95 (.79) 5. Campus climate -.17��� .40��� .25��� .38��� 1 -.33� -.04 -.12 -.08 3.34 (3.27) .74 (.72) Control variables 6. Age .07 -.08 .05 -.09 -.09 1 .07 -.18 .09 7. Gender identity (women) -.11� .06 .03 .05 .05 -.05 1 .02 .35� 8. Class rank (other) .02 -.06 -.10� -.09� -.01 .13� .01 1 .25

9. Specialized academic program (humanistic area) .01 -.02 -.02 -.02 .03 -.04 .12�� .14�� 1 SD = standard deviation. Means and standard deviations that refer to non-heterosexual students are reported in brackets. Values for heterosexual students are below the diagonal. Values for non-heterosexual students are above the diagonal. ���p < .001; ��p < .01; �p < .05; †p < .10. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231580.t002 Table 3. Standardized parameters resulting from structural equation modeling. Focal variables Mediators Dependent Variable Peer-group interactions Interactions with faculty Faculty concern for student development and teaching Campus climate β [90% CI] β [90% CI] β [90% CI] β [90% CI] Heterosexist Microaggressions (latent variable) -.16��� [-.26, -.06] -.04 [-.15, .08] -.19�� [-.28, -.10] -.09† [-.19, .00] Peer-group interactions 22��� [.21, .38] Interactions with faculty -.02 [-.05, .14] Faculty concern for student development and teaching .21��� [.17, .35] Sexual orientation (Non-heterosexual) -.07 [-.20, .03] .03 [-.07, .11] -.02 [-.10, .06] .01 [-.06, .09] Control variables Age -.03 [-.14, .07] .07 [-.03, .18] -.05 [-.14, .06] -.05 [-.15, .02] Gender identity (Women) .01 [-.08, .10] .03 [-.07, .11] .02 [-.07, .11] .01 [-.06, .11] Class rank (Other) -.04 [-.12, .04] -.10� [-.18, -.01] -.09† [-.18, .00] .02 [-.05, .12] ���p < .001; ��p < .01; �p < .05; †p < .10. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231580.t003 PLOS ONE Heterosexist microaggressions and campus climate

PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231580 April 16, 2020 9 / 16