Effects of Friendship among Same-Sex Attracted Youth on Sexual Minority Identity Development in Young Adulthood

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Alena Kuhlemeier
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Minority Identity ◽  
Sexual Minority Identity

The Proverbial Closet: Do Faith and Religiosity Affect Coming Out Patterns?

2021 ◽  
pp. 232949652199605
Author(s):  
Shawn M. Ratcliff ◽  
Trenton M. Haltom
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
Minority Identity ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Sexual Minority Identity

Disclosing one’s sexual minority identity or “coming out of the closet” is a key milestone in sexual minority identity development. While scholars have explored how race, gender, class, and other social classifications shape coming out patterns among lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) individuals, we know far less about the effect of religious contexts. To address this shortcoming, we extend existing theoretical insights to better understand how faith and religiosity shape coming out patterns among sexual minorities both independently and collectively. Specifically, we examine how religious affiliation and religious attendance (a measure of religiosity) affect when LGB individuals privately realize and publicly disclose their sexual minority identity. Using data from the Pew Research Center’s 2013 Survey of LGBT Adults, we conduct a series of ordinary least squares regressions on a representative sample of LGB adults ( n = 1,136). We find religious contexts—both religious affiliation and attendance—have no independent effect on when a person realizes or publicly discloses their sexual minority identity for the first time. However, evangelical Protestants that frequently attend religious services publicly disclose their sexual minority identity at older ages. These results highlight the social cost of publicly disclosing an LGB identity, especially within conservative religious spaces.

Working with Sexual-Minority Individuals

2010 ◽  
pp. 837-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Diamond ◽  
Molly R. Butterworth ◽  
Ritch C. Savin-Williams
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Minority Stress ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Minority Population ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Psychological Issues ◽  
The Family ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Oriented Research

The present chapter provides a review of some of the primary psychological issues confronting sexual minorities (i.e., individuals with same-sex attractions and relationships). Our goal is to provide a flexible set of preliminary questions that can be used to help sexual-minority clients to articulate their own idiosyncratic experiences and give voice to their own unique needs. We begin by addressing two of the most common and important clinical issues faced by sexual minorities: generalized “minority stress” and acceptance and validation from the family of origin. We then turn attention to the vast—and vastly underinvestigated—population of individuals with bisexual attractions and behavior, who actually constitute the majority of the sexual-minority population, despite having been systematically excluded from most prior research. We review the increasing body of research suggesting that individuals with bisexual patterns of attraction and behavior actually face greater mental health risks than those with exclusive same-sex attractions and behavior, and we explore potential processes and mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, focusing particular attention on issues of identity development and transition over the life span. We conclude by outlining a number of areas for future clinically oriented research.

Gender, Sexuality, and Psychological Theories of Youth Development

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra R. Homick ◽  
Lisa F. Platt
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Erik Erikson ◽  
Transgender Identity ◽  
Stage Models ◽  
Minority Identity ◽  
And Gender

Gender and sexual identity play a significant role in the lives of developing youth. The developments of gender and sexual identities are shaped by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, biological, cognitive, and social elements. It is crucial to consider that gender and sexual minority individuals face additional complexities in the two processes of gender identity and sexual identity development. Cisgender identity development is most commonly understood with the help of early cognitive and social theories, although biological components play a part as well. Specifically, the theories of Lawrence Kohlberg, Sandra Bem, Alfred Bandura, and David Buss have made significant contributions to the understanding of cisgender identity development. Modern transgender identity development models are helpful in exploring transgender identity formation with the most popular being the Transgender Emergence Model founded by Arlene Lev. Similar to cisgender identity development, heterosexual identity development is typically understood with the help of early psychosocial theories, namely that of Erik Erikson. Sexual minority identity development is often comprehended using stage models and life-span models. Sexual minority stage models build off the work of Erik Erikson, with one of the most popular being the Cass Model of Gay and Lesbian Identity Development. Offering more flexibility than stage models and allowing for fluid sexual identity, life-span models, like the D’Augelli model, are often more popular choices for modern exploration of sexual minority identity development. As both sexual and gender identity spectrums are continuing to expand, there also comes a need for an exploration of the relationship between sexual and gender identity development, particularly among sexual minority populations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document