Objective: Examining sexual identity development-the process through which sexual minorities discover and disclose their sexual orientations-within a minority stress framework may help to contextualize sexual and mental health disparities among gay and bisexual men. Research on sexual identity development has typically focused on ages of achieving specific milestones (i.e., awareness, identification, sexual experience, and disclosure), though differences in onset and speed of the process and impact of these trajectories on healthy functioning in adulthood are understudied.
Method: We analyzed cross-sectional data from 374 highly sexually active gay and bisexual men in NYC. Using latent growth curve modelling, we examined trajectories of sexual identity development through the four primary milestones. We next examined their associations with childhood and background characteristics, adult experiences of sexual minority stress, and adult mental health.
Results: Gay sexual identity and greater childhood gender nonconformity were associated with earlier reported onset of sexual identity development and younger age was significantly associated with faster progression through the developmental process. The model showed that faster progression through sexual identity development was associated with higher levels of sexual orientation-based discrimination, emotion dysregulation, sexual compulsivity, and anxiety and depression in adulthood.
Conclusions: These findings support the need for a comprehensive and developmentally-informed model of adulthood functioning among gay and bisexual men that considers trajectories of sexual identity development-including onset and duration-as potential precursors to mental health difficulties in adulthood. Given the early onset of sexual identity development and potential lifelong sequelae, early prevention programs promoting positive sexual identity development are warranted.
Keywords: discrimination; mental health; minority stress; sexual identity development; stigma.