Beals Kristin P, Peplau Letitia Anne, Gable Shelly L
Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92834, USA.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2009 Jul;35(7):867-79. doi: 10.1177/0146167209334783. Epub 2009 Apr 29.
Lesbians and gay men frequently make decisions about concealing or disclosing their stigmatized identity. Past research has found that disclosing one's sexual orientation is often beneficial. This study aimed to answer the question, "why?". Specifically, this study tested a model in which perceived social support, emotional processing, and suppression mediate the association between disclosure and well-being. To capture disclosure decisions in real time, participants completed a 2-week daily diary study and a 2-month follow-up survey. As expected, participants generally reported greater well-being on days when they disclosed (vs. concealed) their sexual orientation. Perceived social support was a consistent predictor of well-being and mediator of the association between disclosure and well-being. Although less consistent across time and measures, emotional processing and to a lesser extent suppression were also significantly associated with disclosure and well-being. This research advances the scientific understanding of concealable stigmatized identities and their impact on individual well-being.
女同性恋者和男同性恋者经常要做出关于隐藏或公开其受污名化身份的决定。过去的研究发现，公开自己的性取向往往是有益的。本研究旨在回答“为什么？”这个问题。具体而言，本研究测试了一个模型，其中感知到的社会支持、情绪处理和压抑在公开与幸福感之间的关联中起中介作用。为了实时捕捉公开决定，参与者完成了一项为期两周的每日日记研究和一项为期两个月的随访调查。正如预期的那样，参与者普遍报告说，在他们公开（而非隐藏）性取向的日子里，幸福感更强。感知到的社会支持是幸福感的一个持续预测因素，也是公开与幸福感之间关联的中介因素。尽管随着时间和测量方法的不同不太一致，但情绪处理以及在较小程度上的压抑也与公开和幸福感显著相关。这项研究推进了对可隐藏的受污名化身份及其对个人幸福感影响的科学理解。
