Internalized homonegativity and social network dependence in young Chinese gay men: multiple mediating effects of sexual orientation concealment, expectations of rejection and self‐esteem

Abstract Social network dependence refers to the behaviour where individuals pay excessive attention to social networks, leading to negative physiological and psychological consequences. This study intended to explore the relationships and mechanisms of internalized homonegativity, sexual orientation concealment, expectations of rejection, self‐esteem and social network dependence among young Chinese gay men. A web sample of 510 young Chinese gay men completed a self‐report questionnaire on internalized homonegativity, sexual orientation concealment, expectations of rejection, self‐esteem and social network dependence. The results showed that internalized homonegativity was positively correlated with social network dependence. The associations between internalized homonegativity and social network dependence were mediated by sexual orientation concealment, expectations of rejection and self‐esteem. In addition, sexual orientation concealment and self‐esteem played a chain mediation role between internalized homonegativity and social network dependence, and expectations of rejection and self‐esteem played a sequential mediation role between internalized homonegativity and social network dependence. The study is conducive to understanding the contributing factors and mechanisms of social network dependence.