The Coming Out Experience of Individuals Who Identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender
This literature review will explore the relationships of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and their fears of how their relationships will be affected after coming out of the closet. This chapter will review the stages in Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development that most pertain to the coming out years; stages associated with the fourteen to seventeen year age range. Erikson's Stage 5 (Identity versus Role Confusion) and Stage 6 (Intimacy versus Isolation) are most relevant to the aforementioned developmental time frame. This review will illuminate how each individual's life is unique and how he or she can be part of different societies, cultures, and communities that alter his or her coming out experience. This chapter will explore a variety of factors that differ from person to person such as family support, ethnic background, peer groups, and even work environments.