Poster #190 - Sexual Identity Development Milestones in a Diverse Sample of LGBQ Youth

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Sex, Gender

Integrative Statement

Recent research suggests that contemporary lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) youth are coming out at progressively younger ages (Russell & Fish, 2016). At the same time, sexual minority youth continue to report higher rates of mental health issues, substance use, and victimization than their heterosexual peers (CDC, 2018). One proposed mechanism for the persistence of health disparities involves the co-occurrence of key sexual identity development processes with vulnerable periods of adolescence for many sexual minority youth. Yet, to date, little is known about the timing and processes that characterize sexual identity development milestones—including the age of first awareness of sexual minority attraction, first disclosure, and first same-sex behavior— for contemporary sexual minority youth. Although prior research has demonstrated that sexual identity development is not a monolithic process, little is known about how identity development may differ based on socio-cultural contexts and identity markers including sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual identity. Understanding the timing and patterns of sexual identity development processes, as well as how they vary among diverse youth, could provide foundational information for shedding light on the mechanisms that drive risk and protective factors for contemporary LGBQ youths’ health and well-being.

The current study utilized a large and diverse sample of contemporary LGBQ youth to examine how the timing and patterns of sexual identity development milestones varies based on sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual identity. Consistent with prior research (D’Augelli & Grossman, 2001; Maguen et al., 2002), we hypothesized that bisexual youth would report later ages of milestones than lesbian/gay youth, and that males would report younger milestone ages than females.

Our sample includes 885 cisgender LGBQ adolescents aged 15-21 (M=18.29) from a larger three-city, longitudinal panel study of risk and protective factors for suicide among LGBTQ youth. We measured sexual identity development milestones with six questions that captured the age at which participants first: 1) became aware of feeling different than others of the same sex, 2) realized these feelings were sexual, 3) felt same-sex attraction, 4) labeled themselves LGBQ, 5) disclosed an LGBQ sexual identity, and 6) engaged in same-sex sexual activity. Participants’ sex at birth (male, female), sexual identity (lesbian/gay, bisexual, or questioning), and race/ethnicity (Black, White, Latinx, Multiracial, or Other) were also measured.

We used ANCOVA analyses to examine differences in the age of sexual identity development milestones along key aspects of identity including sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual identity. Results suggest significant variability in the age at which LGBQ youth report milestones (see Table). For example, lesbian/gay youth reported younger ages of feeling different, same-sex attraction, and disclosure than bisexual and questioning youth. Black youth in our sample reported later ages of feeling different, labeling their LGBQ identity, and disclosing their LGBQ identity than other racial/ethnic groups. Findings indicate that sexual identity development processes of contemporary youth do not follow one uniform trajectory, but rather, vary in important ways that may be influenced by identity and context. Implications for understanding the factors that drive risk and resilience among LGBQ youth are discussed.

Authors

• Meg D. Bishop, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Jessica N. Fish, University of Maryland College Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Stephen T. Russell, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author