Coming out: implications for self-esteem and depression in gay and lesbian individuals

Self-disclosing one's sexual orientation to others, also known as coming out, can be both liberating and terrifying for gay and lesbian individuals. The initial stages of the coming out process may be fraught with emotional difficulty; however, research indicates that gay and lesbian individuals who have accepted and integrated their sexual orientations ultimately have greater psychological well-being than those who have not. The purpose of this study was to examine how coming out is related to two specific psychological constructs: self-esteem and depression. A total of 258 gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals participated in the current study. Results indicate that gay and lesbian individuals who have come out to many people in their lives have higher self-esteem and lower depression levels than those who have come out to very few people or no one. Additionally, this study found that the length of time that has elapsed since initially coming out was positively correlated with self-esteem scores. Compared with participants' depression level and self-esteem immediately following their first self-disclosure of sexual orientation, current depression level was lower and current self-esteem was higher, suggesting that these two psychological constructs tend to improve after coming out, as time goes on. Data were collected through the use of the Outness Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and a brief demographic questionnaire.