Sexual orientation disclosure to classmates among Latinx sexual minority high school and college youth.
Zhenqiang ZhaoRussell B ToomeyKarla AnhaltPublished in: Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence (2021)
This study examined how minority stressors mediate the association between sexual orientation disclosure to classmates and well-being in a sample of 238 Latinx sexual minority youth (SMY; age range: 14-24 years). Results indicated that sexual orientation disclosure to classmates was associated with higher levels of sexual orientation-based victimization, which contributed to higher levels of internalized homonegativity, which ultimately contributed to higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem. Sexual orientation-based victimization and internalized homonegativity were positively associated with depressive symptoms and negatively associated with self-esteem but sexual orientation disclosure to classmates was only positively associated with depressive symptoms. Associations between sexual orientation-based victimization and internalized homonegativity were stronger among college Latinx SMY compared to SMY in high school.