Poster #192 - Sexual Minority Self-Esteem Development Across the Transition to Adulthood: The Influence of Familial Understanding

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Sex, Gender

Integrative Statement

Self-esteem has been defined as the feeling that one is good enough (Rosenberg, 1965) and is especially poignant through the transition from adolescence into adulthood due to the identity development which occurs (Arnett, 2000). Prior research has found that self-esteem has a quadratic slope across development which increases from childhood through adolescence and emerging adulthood before peaking and decreasing in older adulthood (Orth et al., 2010).
Additionally, research has explored how social support is associated with self-esteem in sexual minority individuals. For example, Ryan and colleagues (2010) found that a greater sense of parental acceptance of one’s sexual minority status was associated with increases in self-esteem and social support during adolescence. Further research should explore differences in the trajectory of self-esteem development between sexual minority and heterosexual individuals. Finally, further research is needed in regard to unique forms of social support from one’s family of origin (i.e. a feeling of being understood).
Secondary data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health study was used for analysis (Harris et al., 2009). Self-esteem was measured at all four waves using one item asking, “how often in the past week have you felt that you were just as good as other people.” Participants responded on a Likert scale from never or rarely (0) to most of the time or all the time (3). Family understanding at time 1 was measured using a single item in which participants were asked how much people in their family understand them on a scale from not at all (1) to very much (5).
T-test comparison revealed that sexual minority individuals had significantly lower self-esteem levels at times two (t = 2.87, p < .01) and three (t = 3.00, p < .01). The trajectory of self-esteem development for both groups supports the use of a quadratic growth model to illustrate the development of self-esteem and follows prior findings as it rises from adolescence through emerging adulthood and then declines once the sample reached adulthood. See table 2 for model fit indices.
Even despite their minority stress, sexual minority individuals are still experiencing similar increases (and decreases) in their self-esteem at developmentally expected time points as compared to their heterosexual peers. Additionally, familial understanding in adolescence was significantly associated with a slower increase in self-esteem for both groups. Feeling understood by one’s parents set into motion a unique trajectory for the development of self-esteem across the transition to adulthood and helped to understand the development of self-esteem across this period for both heterosexual and sexual minority individuals. Research such as this is important for better understanding the ways in which individuals develop self-esteem.
As parents reconcile their adolescent’s sexual orientation it is important for them to recognize the lasting influence that moment of minority declaration has for their child. Many adolescents feel nervous about coming out to their parents and worry about rejection. The current study illustrates that simply having an elevated level of understanding has lasting implications for positive development and self-esteem.

Authors

• Barrett Scroggs, Pennsylvania State University, Mont Alto
  Presenting Author

• Amber Vennum, Kansas State University
  Non-Presenting Author