A Theoretical Model for Predicting Outness in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People: Minority Stressors, Social Support, and Identity Processes

Coming out has been found to be associated with favorable long-term social and psychological outcomes among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people. It is therefore important to understand the system of social and psychological factors that predict degree of outness in this population. The integrative theoretical model proposed in this article postulates that social factors (e.g., exposure to minority stressors, access to social support) trigger changes in sexual identity, which in turn determine one’s degree of outness. The model is tested in two cross-sectional survey studies (Study 1 [N = 295]) and Study 2 [N = 156]) of LGB people in the United Kingdom. Discrimination and general social support were directly and positively associated with outness and indirectly through the mediation of sexual identity processes. LGB social support was indirectly associated with outness through sexual identity processes. Interventions should focus on facilitating access to varied social support and on preventing or alleviating sexual identity threat in the face of minority stressors.