Why Should I Tell You? Differences in Self-Disclosure Among Sexual Minorities are Associated with Experiences with Minority Stress

Abstract

Minority stress has been identified as a significant contributor to mental/physical health disparities within sexual minority populations. The Minority Stress Model describes different sources of stress, such as distal (e.g., victimization) and proximal stressors (e.g., internalized stigma), alongside ameliorating processes, such as social support, that can influence health outcomes. The stressors that an individual might experience are partially influenced by sexual orientation, with some identities experiencing stressors that are specific to that sexual identity. One avenue through which minority stress might impact health outcomes is through disclosure of a minority identity, an experience that is often associated with positive health outcomes but may invite stigma. Across three sets of analyses, gay/lesbian, bi+, and asexual participants reported experiences with minority stress, past experiences with disclosure, and willingness to disclose their identity as a sexual minority in two hypothetical contexts. The first research question examined differences in coming out milestones, finding that asexual participants reported discovering, identifying with, and disclosing their sexual minority identity at later ages over shorter intervals than gay/lesbian and bi+ samples. The second research question demonstrated indirect effects of the associations between discrimination events and microaggressions and likelihood to disclose through the proximal stressors expectations of rejection and internalized stigma, although these associations differed by sexual orientation. The third research question demonstrated that community connectedness moderated the association between expectations of rejection and likelihood to disclose orientation, but only for the asexual sample. Across these analyses, different orientations reported consistent differences in the minority stressors that were associated with disclosure, which could help clinicians customize treatments to better address their minority clients’ needs.