Developmental milestones and disclosure of sexual orientation among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths

A total of 63 males and 54 females from the southeastern United States who averaged 20 years of age (range= 14-27) answered a questionnaire concerned with coming-out milestones. disclosure, and self-esteem for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths. The mean ages for first awareness of same-sex attraction (11 years), first same-sex sexual contact (16 years), and first disclosure of their sexual identity (17 years) were similar to other recent young samples. The order of these milestones varied among subgroups of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, and proportions who were out to one or both parents differed for bisexuals and African Americans. The findings suggest diverse individual trajectories as opposed to an invariant sequence of coming-out experiences and highlight the need for greater attention to individual differences in sexual orientation identity development. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.