‘Hoping for a life that isn’t just surviving:’ a qualitative study on sexual minority college students’ experiences with identity formation and coming out at a religious institution in the USA

This study explores the identity formation and coming out experiences of 14 sexual minority students at a religiously affiliated university in the USA. Participants described their experiences of cultural, religious, and societal pressure that extended the process of self-acceptance and identity disclosure. We used consensual qualitative research method to analyse each interview. Our analysis led to the identification of eight domains: identity formation; barriers to understanding identity; evolution of label; adoption of label, avoidance of label; coming out process; barriers to coming out; and reactions to coming out. Self-defining moments such as adopting an affirming identity label, disclosing that identity to others, and beginning to initiate non-heterosexual relationships, formed the basis of these domains. Overall, we found that participants described some experiences identified in previous literature. However, we also analysed new information which indicates that the coming out process is lengthy, heavily dependent on context, and problematic issues may arise throughout a lifetime. Findings point to under-researched factors influencing the complexities sexual minority students face within conservative religious institutions.