Individual and Contextual Predictors of Sexual Orientation Disclosure: Two Studies with Chilean LGBT + University Students

Abstract

This paper reports two studies that tested sexual orientation, residence context (urban/rural, living with parents), and perceived social support as predictors of sexual orientation disclosure in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority (LGB+) university students in Chile. Samples comprised 268 participants for Study 1, and 160 for Study 2, who were cisgender, transgender, or nonbinary. All participants answered an online questionnaire with sociodemographic questions, a perceived social support scale, and a list of individuals to whom they disclosed their sexual orientation. In both studies, the predictors of sexual orientation disclosure were being gay or lesbian (vs. bisexual and other sexual minority individuals), not living with parents, and perceiving social support from others outside family and friends. Our findings show the need to expand the social understanding of sexual orientation beyond heterosexual-homosexual dichotomies, and to strengthen sources of social support in higher education to foster safer environments for sexual and gender minority students.

Keywords:

• LGBTQ+
• disclosure
• social support
• university students
• family

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo de Chile (ANID) under Grant Fondecyt Postdoctoral 3210003, and Subvención a la Instalación en la Academia 85220056; and partially supported by DIUFRO Project GI24-0013.

Notes on contributors

Ligia Orellana

Ligia Orellana is a social psychology researcher and academic. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (El Salvador), a Master’s degree in Psychology from the Universidad de La Frontera (Chile), and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom). Her teaching and research interests focus on sexual orientation and gender identity, and subjective well-being. She currently works at the Psychology Department, and the Center of Excellence in Economic and Consumer Psychology (CEPEC) at the Universidad de La Frontera, Chile.

Catalina Parra

Catalina Parra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (2022) from Universidad Católica de Temuco. Her professional, academic and reseach interests focus on mental health in LGBTIQ + individuals. She currently works as a clinical psychologist in a primary health care center in Chile.

Claudia Sepúlveda

Claudia Sepúlveda is a psychologist with a Bachelor’s degree (2022) from the Universidad Católica de Temuco (Chile), and currently pursuing a diploma in Educational Inclusion with a specialization in Neurodiversity. Her professional, academic and research interests focus on providing learning support for neurodivergent students from a perspective of rights and inclusion, with a particular emphasis on individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She works in the School Integration Program at a local school in Chile, with students ranging from 4 to 10 years old.

Berta Schnettler

Berta Schnettler is an Agricultural Engineer (1996) with a Master’s degree in Business Administration (2001) from Universidad de La Frontera, and a PhD in Business Sciences (2004) from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. She is a Professor of the Department of Agricultural Production of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and a researcher at the Center of Excellence in Economic and Consumer Psychology (CEPEC) of the Universidad de La Frontera. She is also a Visiting Research Professor at the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador. Her research addresses subjective well-being and related variables in adults, university students, adolescents and in dual-earner families with adolescent children.

José Sepúlveda

José Sepúlveda is a psychologist, with a Bachelor’s degree (2007) and a Master’s Degree in Psychology (2013) from Universidad de La Frontera (Chile), and a PhD in Psychology (2019) from the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom). His research focuses on subjective well-being and economic behavior. He teaches quantitative methods and economic psychology at the Psychology Department and the Center of Excellence in Economic and Consumer Psychology (CEPEC) at the Universidad de La Frontera.

Tatiana Alarcón

Tatiana Alarcón holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (2021) and a Master’s degree in Psychology (2022) from Universidad de La Frontera. Her academic interests focus on topics related to sexual education, wellness, and mental health. Additionally, she is interested in analytical methodologies and their practical applications. Currently, she works as a well-being and mental health advisor and provides guidance on analytical data pertaining to teaching-related subjects at Universidad de La Frontera.

Leonor Riquelme-Segura

Leonor Riquelme-Segura is a social worker (2005), with a Master’s degree in Psychology (2009), a Master’s degree in Local and Regional Human Development (2010), and a PhD in Social Sciences at Universidad de La Frontera. She is an academic of the Department of Social Work at Universidad de La Frontera. Her research interests addresses dynamics in the work-family interface.

Karol Reutter

Karol Reutter has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (2022) from Universidad de La Frontera. In 2022, she completed a research internship at the Center of Excellence in Economic and Consumer Psychology (CEPEC), where she was involved in research management and scientific outreach. Currently, she works as a Research Assistant on multiple projects, collaborating primarily with researchers from the Psychology Department at Universidad de La Frontera. Her main research interests revolve around assessing socioemotional skills in adolescents and young adults.