Coming out experiences and disclosure gap in three age cohorts of portuguese cisgender sexual minority men

Costa, Pedro Alexandre; Alberto Ribeiro-Gonçalves, José; Gomes, Gonçalo; Romeu, Inês

Publication

Coming out experiences and disclosure gap in three age cohorts of portuguese cisgender sexual minority men

2022Journal article

dc.contributor.author	Costa, Pedro Alexandre
dc.contributor.author	Alberto Ribeiro-Gonçalves, José
dc.contributor.author	Gomes, Gonçalo
dc.contributor.author	Romeu, Inês
dc.date.accessioned	2022-07-21T14:50:50Z
dc.date.available	2022-07-21T14:50:50Z
dc.date.issued	2022
dc.description.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 signifcant 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 signifcant 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 wellbeing and possibly counterbalance the negative efects of stigma, namely, connection to the LGBT community.	pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorship	Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCT	pt_PT
dc.description.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion	pt_PT
dc.identifier.citation	Costa, P. A., Alberto Ribeiro-Gonçalves, J., Gomes, G., & Romeu, I. (2022). Coming out experiences and disclosure gap in three age cohorts of portuguese cisgender sexual minority men. Sexuality Research & Social Policy: A Journal of the NSRC.	pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi	10.1007/s13178-022-00731-w	pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn	15536610
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.12/8741
dc.language.iso	eng	pt_PT
dc.peerreviewed	yes	pt_PT
dc.publisher	Springer	pt_PT
dc.relation	William James Center for Research
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	pt_PT
dc.subject	Minority stress	pt_PT
dc.subject	Concealment of sexual orientation	pt_PT
dc.subject	Sexual stigma	pt_PT
dc.subject	Distress	pt_PT
dc.subject	LGBT community	pt_PT
dc.title	Coming out experiences and disclosure gap in three age cohorts of portuguese cisgender sexual minority men	pt_PT
dc.type	journal article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.awardTitle	William James Center for Research
oaire.awardURI	info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UID%2FPSI%2F04810%2F2019/PT
oaire.citation.conferencePlace	United States	pt_PT
oaire.citation.endPage	12	pt_PT
oaire.citation.startPage	1	pt_PT
oaire.citation.title	Sexuality Research and Social Policy	pt_PT
oaire.fundingStream	6817 - DCRRNI ID
person.familyName	Costa
person.familyName	de Castro Oliveira Gomes
person.givenName	Pedro Alexandre
person.givenName	Gonçalo Nuno
person.identifier	https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aQMaXFYAAAAJ&hl=pt-PT&oi=sra
person.identifier.ciencia-id	4219-59F4-4704
person.identifier.ciencia-id	2110-760B-9AAA
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0001-9826-9881
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0002-9123-1175
person.identifier.scopus-author-id	55681481200
project.funder.identifier	http://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.name	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
rcaap.rights	openAccess	pt_PT
rcaap.type	article	pt_PT
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