Toward a More Relational Model of Sexual Minority Identity Concealment

Describing Non-Binary People's Encounters with the Healthcare System: A Qualitative Study in Catalonia (Spain)

Non-binary people face numerous stressors in their daily lives, including personal, interpersonal, and environmental. These stressors gain strength when such individuals access healthcare services, and discrimination and cisgenderism become the main barrier to obtaining gender-affirming healthcare. This study aimed to describe the experiences of non-binary people regarding the care and medical attention received in Catalonia (Spain). A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted with 21 non-binary people recruited using snowball sampling in 2022. Data were gathered through open-ended interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Two main themes were identified, which were further classified into two categories each: Theme 1-This is me composed of the categories, "My Name and My Pronouns" and "One's Chosen Gender," and Theme 2-I do not exist for the health system consisting of "Uneducated Health System in Sexual Health" and "Feeling Like an Outsider for Being Non-Binary." Non-binary people face multiple stressors when accessing the healthcare services that makes them feel invisible, vulnerable, and marginalized. Further widespread implementation of person-centered care is essential to promote the relationship between non-binary people and the healthcare system. In addition, further sexual health training is required for all health professionals.

LGBTQ Young Adults' Identity Disclosure in the Workplace: A Longitudinal Qualitative Analysis of Disclosure Intentions and Outcomes

Research shows that LGBTQ workers make strategic decisions about whether to disclose their sexual and gender identities to their colleagues as they assess potential costs and benefits. The present study sought to extend this literature by examining how they plan their identity disclosure in future workplace interactions and why they may diverge from their initial intentions. The analysis used longitudinal data from in-depth interviews, in which young LGBTQ workers reported disclosure intentions and their outcomes two years later. Participants often expressed intentions to disclose their LGBTQ identities while emphasizing the importance of identity disclosure for self-authenticity and the LGBTQ community's visibility. Sometime over the course of the study, however, a substantial number of participants did not carry out their intentions because of unanticipated workplace constraints such as a lack of opportunities for personal conversations, an expectation for professionalism, and an absence of LGBTQ colleagues. However, participants who diverged from their initial disclosure intentions maintained an identity as an open LGBTQ person by emphasizing their willingness for disclosure.

Kept in the Closet: Structural Stigma and the Timing of Sexual Minority Developmental Milestones Across 28 European Countries

Structural stigma's role in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people's attainment of identity development milestones remains unknown. In a sample of 111,498 LGB people (ages 15 to 65+) living across 28 European countries, associations were investigated between structural stigma measured using an objective index of discriminatory country-level laws and policies affecting LGB people and the timing and pacing of LGB self-awareness, coming out, and closet duration, and subgroup differences in these associations. On average, self-awareness occurred at age 14.8 years old (SD = 5.1), coming out occurred at 18.5 years old (SD = 5.7), and the closet was 3.9 years long (SD = 4.9); thereby highlighting adolescence as a key period for sexual identity development and disclosure. Greater structural stigma was associated with higher odds of never coming out, later age of coming out, and longer closet duration. Gender identity, transgender identity, and sexual identity moderated associations between structural stigma and these developmental milestones. Reducing structural stigma can plausibly promote sexual identity development among LGB populations, especially during adolescence when identity related milestones are often attained.