This study investigates how young lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals deal with coming out and how perceived personal growth may result from that experience. We considered stress-related growth as a mediator between coming-out experiences and internalized homonegativity (IH). Our sample was taken from an online survey and is comprised of 502 LGBs aged 14-30. The social environment's acceptance of an individual's sexual orientation and the individual's social identification influence stress-related growth. Several coming-out indicators influence internalized homonegativity and, although growth perception does not function as a mediator between coming out and internalized homonegativity, it has a direct effect on IH.
Despite the judicial and cultural progress that has been made in Flanders (i.e., Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs) are still a stigmatized sexual minority. They are assumed to rely extensively on the support of friends to compensate for lack of familial support (i.e., family-of-choice hypothesis). In this article, we compare the support networks of 2,754 Flemish LGBs and 1,199 Flemish citizens and find convincing support for the family-of-choice hypothesis.LGBs seem to rely primarily on friends, while the average Fleming primarily relies on family for confidant support. We discuss the supportive potential captured in these friendship networks and raise the question "Are friends all a person needs?"j asp_715 312..331 1 We dedicate this article to our beloved friend and colleague, John Vincke. We will remember him as a passionate researcher and a truly exceptional human being.
The identified increased risk of suicidal ideation among homosexual or bisexual young people is associated with depression and may lead to suicidal behaviour, independent of sexual orientation, especially in the presence of a role model of suicidal behaviour, and among those with unsatisfying friendships.
This study analyzes how low social support of gay men when coming out affects the reported levels of depression and self-acceptance in a non-clinical sample of Flemish (Belgium) gay men. The model used is nonrecursive. It incorporates the mutual causation between depression and self-acceptance. The manipulation of social support is considered as part of the general process of social control. After delineating the methodological problems associated with studying the relationship between the perception of support and depression, it is shown that low social support because one is gay leads first to depression and then to low levels of gay self-acceptance. Findings are discussed within the framework of social stress research and the characteristics of the social context of the setting where the data was collected.
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