TY - JOUR
T1 - The Coming-Out Process and Its Adaptational and Health-Related Associations Among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths
T2 - Stipulation and Exploration of a Model
AU - Rosario, Margaret
AU - Hunter, Joyce
AU - Maguen, Shira
AU - Gwadz, Marya
AU - Smith, Raymond
N1 - Funding Information:
1This research was supported by center grant P50-MH43520 from the National Institute of Mental Health, Margaret Rosario, Principal Investigator, HIV Risk and Coming Out Among Gay and Lesbian Adolescents, Anke A. Ehrhardt, Principal Investigator, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual convention of the American Public Health Association, New York, 1996. We gratefully acknowledge the participation and assistance of the recruitment sites, as well as the helpful criticisms by Jacob Cohen, Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, and Suzanne Salzinger. 2To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of Psychology, The City University of New York—The City College and Graduate Center, NAC Building 7-120, 138th Street and Convent Avenue, New York, New York 10031.
PY - 2001/2
Y1 - 2001/2
N2 - A model is proposed and explored that links the coming-out process to the psychological functioning (i.e., self-esteem and distress) and sexual behaviors of gay lesbian, and bisexual youths recruited from gay-focused community-based and college organizations in New York City. The coming-out process is multidimensional, consisting, as defined here, of involvement in gay/lesbian activities, attitudes toward homosexuality, comfort with homosexuality, self-disclosure of sexual identity to others, and sexual identity. The coming-out dimensions were related to self-esteem, distress, and unprotected sexual behaviors. In addition, the relations between the coming-out dimensions and unprotected sexual behaviors were explained by psychological functioning. In particular, limited involvement in gay/lesbian activities was associated with more unprotected sex. Negative attitudes toward homosexuality were related directly to more unprotected sex, and they were related indirectly to more unprotected sex by means of increasing emotional distress. These and other findings have implications for designing preventive interventions to increase the youths' psychological functioning and reduce their unprotected sexual behaviors.
AB - A model is proposed and explored that links the coming-out process to the psychological functioning (i.e., self-esteem and distress) and sexual behaviors of gay lesbian, and bisexual youths recruited from gay-focused community-based and college organizations in New York City. The coming-out process is multidimensional, consisting, as defined here, of involvement in gay/lesbian activities, attitudes toward homosexuality, comfort with homosexuality, self-disclosure of sexual identity to others, and sexual identity. The coming-out dimensions were related to self-esteem, distress, and unprotected sexual behaviors. In addition, the relations between the coming-out dimensions and unprotected sexual behaviors were explained by psychological functioning. In particular, limited involvement in gay/lesbian activities was associated with more unprotected sex. Negative attitudes toward homosexuality were related directly to more unprotected sex, and they were related indirectly to more unprotected sex by means of increasing emotional distress. These and other findings have implications for designing preventive interventions to increase the youths' psychological functioning and reduce their unprotected sexual behaviors.
KW - Adaptation
KW - Coming-out process
KW - Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths
KW - Sexual behaviors
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U2 - 10.1023/A:1005205630978
DO - 10.1023/A:1005205630978
M3 - Article
C2 - 11439825
AN - SCOPUS:0035261617
SN - 0091-0562
VL - 29
SP - 133
EP - 160
JO - American journal of community psychology
JF - American journal of community psychology
IS - 1
ER -