Does outness function the same for all sexual minority youth? Testing its associations with different aspects of well-being in a sample of youth with diverse sexual identities.

Abstract

While research generally supports that greater outness about one's sexual identity is associated with improved well-being, emerging evidence suggests that outness may have negative consequences for bisexual individuals. Yet few studies have examined sexual identity as a moderator of the associations between outness and well-being, especially among youth. As such, the role of outness in the mental health of diverse sexual minority youth (including pansexual, queer, questioning, and asexual youth) remains unclear. Thus, we examined how the associations between outness and well-being differed as a function of sexual identity in a sample of sexual minority youth. Using data from the LGBTQ National Teen Study (N = 11,225), we tested sexual identity as a moderator of the associations between outness and well-being (depression and self-esteem). In the full sample, greater outness was significantly associated with lower depression and higher self-esteem. However, these associations were significantly different for gay/lesbian versus questioning youth. Greater outness was associated with lower depression and higher self-esteem for gay/lesbian youth yet was associated with higher depression and was not associated with self-esteem for questioning youth. The association between outness and self-esteem was also significantly different for gay/lesbian versus bisexual youth. Greater outness was associated with higher self-esteem for both groups, but the association was stronger for gay/lesbian youth. These findings suggest that outness may have benefits for gay/lesbian and bisexual youth, yet it may have negative consequences for questioning youth. These findings can inform efforts to promote positive sexual identity development and well-being of sexual minority youth. Public Significance StatementOutness was associated with lower depression for gay/lesbian youth as well as higher self-esteem for gay/lesbian and bisexual youth, but it was associated with higher depression for questioning youth. Providers, educators, and others involved in caring for youth need to recognize that being open about one's sexual identity can have benefits for some youth but negative consequences for others.

HIV Syndemic Factor Associations Among Adolescent Gay and Bisexual Men in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2015–2019: A Secondary Data Analysis

“…By contrast, our analysis showed that AGBM who reported being unsure of their sexual orientation, or did not answer, were significantly more likely to report having four or more sexual partners in the unadjusted models. This is congruent with the literature describing that disclosure of sexual orientation or “being out,” among teens was associated with lower depression and higher self-esteem for gay and lesbian youth (Rentería et al, 2022). However, this same study showed that among youth who had a sexual orientation of “questioning,” meaning they were unsure of their sexual orientation, being out was associated with higher reported depression, and there was no difference in their self-esteem.…”

As human as anybody else: Attitudes toward asexual people.

“…Furthermore, there is abundant evidence indicating that many gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals may internalize negative attitudes about their sexual orientation, which in turn can contribute to psychological distress (Berg et al, 2016; Israel et al, 2019). Similarly, asexual people are exposed to negative attitudes from family, friends, peers, and health care providers (Flanagan & Peters, 2020; Foster et al, 2019; Mollett, 2021) and also experience psychological distress (Borgogna et al, 2019; Rentería et al, 2022; Yule et al, 2013). Some of this psychological distress may be due to the internalization of negative attitudes.…”

“…Results are mixed as to whether asexual people experience more or less psychological distress than people of other sexual orientations. Some studies found higher levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidality in asexual people compared to heterosexual people (Borgogna et al, 2019; Yule et al, 2013) and more depression in asexual youth than bisexual youth (Rentería et al, 2022). Other studies found no significant differences between asexual individuals and nonasexual or heterosexual individuals in general well-being and life satisfaction (Greaves et al, 2017; Rothblum et al, 2020).…”

Identity outness to family among gender diverse sexual minority youth: A latent profile analysis.

“…Previous research on the association between SMY’s and GMY’s outness and well-being has been mixed, with being out associated with both better (e.g., fewer depressive symptoms; Rentería et al, 2023) and worse (e.g., more depressive symptoms and disclosure-related stress; Feinstein & Dyar, 2017; Pollitt et al, 2017) well-being. The association between both sexual and gender identity outness to family and well-being may be even more complex for gender diverse SMY as they experience double jeopardy (i.e., when individuals experience discrimination due to their multiple minoritized identities; Hancock & Daigle, 2021).…”