Coming Out as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual: The Lasting Impact of Initial Disclosure Experiences

Abstract

Though previous research indicates that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals may benefit from disclosing their sexual identity, or coming out, doing so also carries with it significant risks due to its stigmatized status. LGB individuals (N = 108) were surveyed regarding their initial experiences coming out, including the first person to whom they disclosed, their mother, father, and best friend. Results indicated that negative reactions to disclosure were associated with higher depression and lower self-esteem, whereas positive reactions did not explain additional variance in well-being. Autonomy need satisfaction following disclosure mediated the relation between negative reactions and lower well-being. Discussion focuses on the coming out process and the importance of autonomy support in identity integration and well-being.

Keywords::

• Sexual identity
• Coming out
• Autonomy
• Well-being
• Disclosure

Notes

This research was conducted at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

^1. Note that the age of coming out to best friend is lower than age first coming out. Though this seems impossible, this finding is due to a few individuals in the sample who came out to the first person rather late in life, but have not (yet) disclosed to their best friend. These individuals pulled up the average age of first disclosure but they did not contribute to the average calculated for disclosure to best friend.

^2. Whether or not gender was included as a control variable in these regression analyses the direction and significance of effects remained the same.

^3. Adding time since first disclosure as a covariate does not change the significance or pattern of results.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship [grant number 1144085].