Abstract
Introduction
Studies emphasize that the time elapsed between self-awareness of one’s sexual orientation and its disclosure to others (disclosure gap) can be an indicator of psychosocial adjustment of sexual minorities.
Methods
This study examined the coming out experiences and disclosure gap of three generations of sexual minority men: adults, 25–39 years; middle-aged, 40–59 years; and seniors, 60 or more years. A sample of 274 cisgender men was recruited, with ages ranging from 25 to 79 years. Data was collected between 2018 and 2019.
Results
Although most men had disclosed their sexual orientation to significant others, there was a wide variation on the coming out timing and experiences across the three age cohorts. Senior sexual minority men realized and disclosed their sexual orientation later than middle-aged men, while the latter realized and disclosed later than their younger counterparts. The disclosure gap followed a similar trend increasing with age. Regression analyses revealed that high levels of self-stigma explained a larger disclosure gap among the middle-aged, whereas low community connectedness explained a larger disclosure gap among seniors. No significant predictors emerged among adults.
Conclusions
Overall coming out experiences worsened with age, with the older cohort reporting realizing and disclosing their sexual orientation later in life, taking longer to come out after identifying as sexual minorities, and feeling less accepted by others after coming out.
Policy Implications
This study highlighted some of the social factors that may improve sexual minority’s psychosocial well-being and possibly counterbalance the negative effects of stigma, namely, connection to the LGBT community.
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The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article may be made available by the authors.
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Funding
The William James Center for Research is funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia – FCT (UID/PSI/04810/2019).
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All authors contributed to the study conception, design, and material preparation. Data collection was performed by Ribeiro-Gonçalves, Gomes, and Romeu. The analyses were performed by Costa. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Costa, and all authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Costa, P.A., Alberto Ribeiro-Gonçalves, J., Gomes, G. et al. Coming out Experiences and Disclosure gap in Three Age Cohorts of Portuguese Cisgender Sexual Minority Men. Sex Res Soc Policy 19, 1662–1673 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-022-00731-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-022-00731-w