Outness, concealment, and authenticity: Associations with LGB individuals’ psychological distress and well-being.

Abstract

Outness, concealment, and authenticity have all been theorized to be important to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) well-being and psychological outcomes. Using a sample of 373 LGB participants, the current study tests the unique contributions of each of these constructs to outcomes measuring psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress. Hierarchical regressions revealed that increased outness was a significant predictor of increased depressive symptoms (counter to the hypothesis but consistent with prior research suggesting that being out may increase risk for experiencing discrimination and minority stress, thus increasing risk for depressive symptoms). Higher levels of LGB-specific concealment were significantly associated with lower psychological well-being and more depressive symptoms. Higher levels of LGB-specific authenticity were significantly associated with higher psychological well-being, fewer depressive symptoms, and lower levels of perceived stress. We suggest that future research on psychological outcomes look beyond outness (and disclosure) to consider more fully the negative impact of actively concealing LGB identities and the contribution of positive identity factors such as authenticity. Public Significance StatementThe present study suggests that concealing LGB identity may be associated with increased risk of depression and lower psychological well-being. Having a sense of authenticity as an LGB person may help to decrease depressive symptoms, lower stress, and enhance psychological well-being. It is important to remember that disclosing or being "out" about one's LGB identity can increase exposure to experiences of discrimination, which may create a risk for depression.

The Influence of Minority Stress on Level of Depression among Thai LGBT Adults

“…LGBT populations based on identity concealment (Riggle, Rostosky, Black, & Rosenkrantz, 2017). Public policy approaches such as antidiscrimination laws will be required to reduce the negative influences of social stigma on the mental health of Thai LGBT populations.…”

Internalized Heterosexism, Outness, Athletic Identity, and Perceived Stress Among Queer Female Athletes

“…A few researchers have examined associations between perceived stress and the other variables of the present study. Riggle et al, (2017) found that outness and perceived stress were negatively correlated, but that outness did not significantly predict perceived stress, demonstrating the role of potential third variables in their association. The authors noted that perceived stress is an indicator of general stress, while outness might be predictive of stress that is specific to queer people.…”

“…In response, the gay athlete can either remain silent or disclose his identity and risk facing rejection. Weighing the risks and benefits of identity disclosure is a unique and recurring burden for queer individuals in a heterosexist world (Riggle, Rostosky, Black, & Rosenkrantz, 2017). Furthermore, the implications and results of coming out vary on a case by case basis.…”

“…Rather than solely represent a single event in a queer person's life, coming out is also a continuous process. The heteronormative nature of society perpetuates the assumption that all people are heterosexual, which imposes pressure on queer people to disconfirm this assumption with all those they know and will know in the future (Riggle, et al, 2017). Further complicating research on outness is the fact that a person may disclose their sexual orientation to some people and not others, and to varying degrees (Legate, Ryan, & Weinstein, 2012).…”

“…Many researchers have used perceived stress as an indicator of well-being in medical and psychological research (e.g., Burton, Burgess, Dean, Koutsopoulou, & Hugh-Jones, 2017;Ibrahim, Thearle, Krakoff, & Gluck, 2016;Mathur et al, 2016). Its application in studies involving diverse samples, including people of color, queer individuals, older adults, and international populations, is also prevalent (e.g., Everett, Onge, & Mollborn, 2016;Kwag, Martin, Russell, Franke & Kohut, 2011;Riggle et al, 2017;Shakthivel et al, 2017;Shavitt et al, 2016).…”