Antecedents to and Outcomes of Same-sex Couples’ Coming Out Talk

Abstract

Coming out talk is a crucial and unique conversation in a same-sex relationship where same-sex partners discuss disclosing their stigmatized relationships to a third party. Guided by the Theory of Coming Out Message Production (COMP), this study examines the predictors and outcomes of coming out talk. Results showed that the salience of conversation goals, internalized homophobia, and dependence power predict degrees of coming out talk. Higher goal salience and lower internalized homophobia predict greater relationship satisfaction directly and indirectly through coming out talk. As goal salience increases, the negative relationship between internalized homophobia and coming out talk becomes weaker. The results illuminate the utility of COMP and spotlight practical implications.

Keywords:

• Dependence Power
• Goals
• Internalized Homophobia
• Relationship Satisfaction
• Same-Sex Relationships

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Jennifer Monahan and Dr. Jiyeon So for their insightful comments on this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.