From the Departments of Psychology (Manigault, Figueroa, Hollenbeck, Woody, Hamilton, Scanlin, Johnson, Zoccola) and Social and Public Health (Hollenbeck, Mendlein, Scanlin), Ohio University, Athens, Ohio; Behavioral Medicine Research (Woody), The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio; and Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (Hamilton), Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.
Psychosom Med. 2018 Oct;80(8):717-723. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000625.
Revealing one's sexual identity to others is a complex process marked by a shift in the types of stressors faced by sexual minority young adults. Such stressors influence the secretion of health-relevant hormones, including cortisol, yet how dimensions of disclosure (i.e., the degree and context) influence neuroendocrine functioning remains poorly understood. The current study examined the association between disclosure context (disclosure to family members, friends/co-workers/acquaintances, and members of religious groups) and diurnal cortisol while allowing disclosure to vary in degree (i.e., how much is disclosed).
One hundred twenty-one sexual minority young adults (aged 18-35 years, 54.5% female, free of major psychiatric/endocrine disorders) completed an initial survey that assessed the degree and context of sexual minority identity disclosure. A randomly selected subset (n = 58) also provided salivary cortisol samples at wake, 45 minutes after wake, 12 hours after wake, and at bedtime for 1 week.
Greater total disclosure and greater disclosure to family members were associated with reduced cortisol output, defined as Area Under the Curve relative to ground (AUCg; F(1,230) = 5.95, p = .015, and F(1,231) = 10.90, p = .001, respectively). Disclosure to co-workers, friends, acquaintances, or religious groups was unrelated to cortisol AUCg. All disclosure contexts tested were unrelated to the shape of diurnal cortisol slopes (including the cortisol awakening response).
Disclosure to family members uniquely predicted cortisol AUCg. Therefore, these results suggest that effects of disclosure on diurnal cortisol and its associated health outcomes may occur in the context of familial relationships.
向他人透露自己的性取向是一个复杂的过程，其特点是性少数青年所面临的压力源类型发生转变。这些压力源会影响与健康相关的激素分泌，包括皮质醇，但披露的维度（即披露的程度和情境）如何影响神经内分泌功能仍知之甚少。本研究考察了披露情境（向家庭成员、朋友/同事/熟人以及宗教团体成员披露）与日间皮质醇之间的关联，同时允许披露程度（即披露的多少）有所变化。
121 名性少数青年成年人（年龄 18-35 岁，54.5%为女性，无重大精神/内分泌疾病）完成了一项初始调查，该调查评估了性少数群体身份披露的程度和情境。一个随机选择的子样本（n=58）还在一周内提供了唾液皮质醇样本，分别在醒来时、醒来后 45 分钟、醒来后 12 小时和睡前。
总披露量越大，向家庭成员披露越多，与皮质醇输出减少相关，定义为 AUCg 的曲线下面积（AUCg；F(1,230)=5.95，p=0.015，F(1,231)=10.90，p=0.001）。向同事、朋友、熟人或宗教团体披露与皮质醇 AUCg 无关。测试的所有披露情境均与皮质醇昼夜节律斜率（包括皮质醇觉醒反应）无关。
向家庭成员披露的情况独特地预测了皮质醇 AUCg。因此，这些结果表明，披露对日间皮质醇及其相关健康结果的影响可能发生在家庭关系的背景下。
