The Role of Anxiety and Fear in Sexual Orientation Self-Disclosure

Abstract

Revealing minority sexual orientation to others, or coming out, can be emotionally arousing and challenging. Yet, few studies have examined the role of emotions in sexual orientation self-disclosure. Based on cognitive coming-out message production and emotion theories, we predict that the salience of disclosure goals and relational power are two foundational antecedents to cognitive appraisals of emotions (i.e. disclosure uncertainty and perceived threat of disclosure), which predict anxiety and fear. Emotions then predict the assessment of disclosure efficacy, which in turn predicts degrees of self-disclosure. Results (N = 301 U.S. LGBQ adults) showed that more salient disclosure goals, directly and indirectly, predicted higher degrees of self-disclosure via disclosure uncertainty, anxiety and fear, and disclosure efficacy. Relational power positively predicted degrees of self-disclosure via perceived threat, fear, and disclosure efficacy. Thus, anxiety and fear are an integral part of the underlying mechanisms accounting for the message process of coming out.

Keywords:

• Anxiety
• coming out
• emotion
• fear
• LGB
• self-disclosure
• sexual orientation self-disclosure

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yachao Li

Yachao Li (Ph.D., University of Georgia) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies and the Department of Public Health at The College of New Jersey. His research focuses on how LGBTQ+ individuals and couples communicate their identities, manage relational challenges, and build resilience in a heteronormative society. His work also explores the role of relational communication in reducing health disparities.

Jennifer A Samp

Jennifer A. Samp (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) is an independent researcher at Communication Compasses. She has over 20 years of experience in research and teaching on topics related to human behavior, social interaction, interpersonal conflict, goals, power, commitment, satisfaction, and self-awareness.