Researchers: Coming Out Can Have Many Benefits

Coming out of the closet allows GLBTs to own their identity more fully and live more authentic lives, say researchers. Coming out also allows gays to form closer and more stable personal bonds with others. But to do so most fully, GLBTS need accept and support from family, friends, and colleagues.

A new study, published June 20 in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science, shows that when closeted people come out in a safe, supportive setting, their self-esteem soars, while anger and depression diminish. Earlier studies that did not discriminate according to the circumstances in which gays emerged from the closet had shown moderate benefits, but that was due to the fact that coming out in a hostile setting offers few or no benefits for mental health, reported a June 20 Science Daily article.

Research has suggested that sexual minorities who live in areas hostile to GLBTs are more prone to depression, substance abuse, risky sexual conduct, and even suicidal behavior. Those trends have been observed in states where the rights of GLBTs have been put up to popular vote. Such plebiscites often involve intense negative advertising campaigns that target gays and make them the focus of negative, and often bizarre, messages.

"In general, research shows that coming out is a good thing," University of Rochester psychology professor Richard Ryan, one of the study's co-authors, told the media. "Decades of studies have found that openness allows gay people to develop an authentic sense of themselves and to cultivate a positive minority sexual identity."

But coming out in a setting in which gays are demonized and subject to social, political, religious, and even physical attack may mean little or no positive effect on a person's well being. Even though it still means a gay person can live more honestly, he or she still faces the daunting prospect of facing the lies that are circulated about GLBTs on a daily basis.

"[E]nvironment plays a huge role in determining when coming out actually makes you happier," University of Rochester doctoral student Nicole Legate said. Legate was a leader in the research project, the article noted. When subjected to harassment and other forms of social punishment, gays who come out in hostile settings "may actually feel no better than those who conceal," Legate said.

Researchers posed a series of questions to 161 GLBTs, ages 18 - 65, and found that the more supportive the setting, the better sexual minorities fared when they disclosed the truth about themselves. That result was common regardless of age, the article said.

"Across all contexts, participants were more closeted in environments they rated as controlling and judgmental," the article reported. "They kept their sexual orientation hidden the most in their religious communities (69 percent), schools (50 percent), and at work (45 percent) and were somewhat more open with their families (36 percent).

"Friends by far represented the most accepting group for most lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals," the article added. "All but 13 percent of participants had come out to their friends, and they reported feeling significantly less anger and greater self-esteem with friends than with any other group."

"The vast majority of gay people are not out in every setting," Ryan observed. "People are reading their environment and determining whether it is safe or not."

ABC News reported on June 20 that the study revealed more than two-thirds of GLBTs -- 69% -- remain at least partially closeted.

"Coming out is a good thing, psychologically speaking, but what we're seeing is that the benefits are balanced out by stigma and non-acceptance in certain environments," Ryan said.

Ryan noted that when gays are forced to stay in the closet, they are less able to form lasting intimate relationships, the Science Daily article said. Moreover, they live with high levels of daily psychological stress.

By contrast, research has confirmed that being closeted poses serious psychological risks, including more troubled romantic relationships, more distress, and even increased suicidal tendencies, added Ryan.

Many respondents to the study said that they were less out at work than in most other contexts, except for church. One explanation for this is that GLBTs who are open at work may face a hostile environment or see their career prospects damaged.

"I know friends who wouldn't come out because they feared facing discrimination and a glass ceiling in terms of promotions," the head of the Liberty Education Forum, Gregory Angelo, told ABC News. "I know others who came out in their work place when it was not in the best interest of their career, but it was in the interest of their happiness. It's a choice everyone has to make for themselves."

"There is a political agenda that some gay people would advocate that everyone must come out everywhere, but from a psychological perspective, treating real people who have to live real lives, I wouldn't say that's a bright thing to do," cautioned Rich Savin-Williams, who heads up Cornell's Sex & Gender Lab.

"For college-aged kids, coming out to a conservative family may cut them off financially or the family might withdraw from them school," added Savin-Williams. "I've seen both of these things happen and clearly that wasn't the ideal way to come out.

"I think it's smart to at least initially be careful in how we come out and then as we develop the support systems we need, we branch out and take more risks," added Savin-Williams.

The study also showed a marked contrast in which subgroups among the GLBT community were more liable to be out. Lesbians led the way; bisexuals tended to remain closeted at higher levels than other sexual minorities.