Outness amplifies the negative effect of gay related rejection in rural, but not urban sexual minority men

ABSTRACT

Sexual minority men have consistently shown to be at-risk for adverse mental health outcomes due to minority stress, yet studies show some men successfully navigate these barriers. What is less known are the environmental and social/emotional factors to which minority stress is amplified (or attenuated). We comparatively investigate rural versus urban sexual minority men and how levels of ‘outness’ (the degree to which an individual discloses their sexual identity to others around them) interacts with gay-related rejection anxieties (a specific type of minority stress). Results broadly show that 1. higher levels of gay-related rejection are statistically associated with higher levels of loneliness, and 2. outness moderated this link in rural, but not urban men. In other words, higher levels of outness amplified the deleterious effects of gay-related rejection in the rural sample only. Although previous research shows mixed results in regards to how coming out affects the mental health of sexual minority men, our stratified results show that rural men may be at a higher risk for deleterious mental health with higher levels of outness. Implications from this study bolster the mental health field, particular mental health practitioners working with rural sexual minority men and the aftermath of coming out.

KEYWORDS:

• Rural
• urban
• outness
• rejection
• anxiety

Acknowledgments

The research results discussed in this publication were made possible in total or part by funding though the award from Project number HR16-022, from the Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science and Technology.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zachary Giano

Zachary Giano, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral fellow at Oklahoma State University, Center for Health Sciences. His research interests include racial/ethnic and sexual minorities, resilience, and psychosocial outcomes. His expertise includes quantitative methods.

Joseph M. Currin

Joseph M. Currin, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. Areas of expertise include use of technology for sexual partner seeking, mental health disparities among men who have sex with men (MSM), and outcomes associated with stigma and minority stress for rural and peri-urban MSM.

Denna L. Wheeler

Denna L. Wheeler, Ph.D. is a clinical associate professor for Rural Health at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences. Areas of expertise include research methodology and statistical methods, program evaluation, rural public health and rural health workforce.

Randolph D. Hubach

Randolph D. Hubach, PhD, MPH is the Director of the Sexual Health Research Lab at Oklahoma State University—Center for Health Sciences and Associate Professor of Rural Health. His research interests include using community engaged principles to address sexuality-related health disparities, sexual behavior, LGBT population health, and HIV/AIDS within rural and urban communities.