Being “out” in high school correlates with increased well-being in adulthood

Authors Dorri and Russell examined the implications of being “out” as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer during high school in the US. They wanted to know how that affects one’s general well-being, as well as one’s sexual minority-specific well-being, in adulthood, and if it differs by age cohort. They analyzed data from Generations: A Study of the Life and Health of LGB People in a Changing Society, United States, 2016-2019 (ICPSR 37166), the first nationally representative panel study of three age cohorts (18–25, 34–41, or 52–59) of sexual minority adults in the US. With the Generations respondent data, Dorri and Russell created measures of outness in high school; experiences of homophobic bullying before age 18; life satisfaction and social well-being; and sexual minority-specific well-being. Their analysis found that being out in high school had no significant impact on general well-being in adulthood. But it revealed that “regardless of gender identity, sexual identity, race/ethnicity, household income, and [age] cohort, there was a link between outness in high school and sexual minority well-being in adulthood.” This included higher levels of LGBTQ community connectedness, stronger centrality of sexual identity, and lower internalized homophobia. While being out in adolescence increased visibility and risk of bullying, the findings suggest the positive effects of affirming one’s identity and building connections to the LGBTQ community during this critical developmental period had lasting benefits. More publications using Generations data are linked on the study home page.