This study was an attempt to begin to understand the phenomenon of coming out
from the parental perspective. Specifically, it focused on the factors contained within a
childâÂÂs disclosure of his or her sexual orientation and their impact on a parentâÂÂs
satisfaction with the disclosure.
Participants were eleven parents of gay and lesbian children. Participants were
interviewed individually regarding their memories of the moment that their children
revealed their sexual orientations to them. Participants were asked questions about the
parent/child relationship prior to the disclosure, questions about the disclosure as it
actually occurred, and were also asked to describe the most ideal coming out scenario
that they could imagine.
Interview data were analyzed according to the naturalistic inquiry process as
outlined by Lincoln and Guba (1985). The results indicate that there are two types of
components that influence parental satisfaction with the disclosure of a childâÂÂs sexual
orientation: relational components and process components. Relational components are
those aspects of the parent/child dynamic that influence a parentâÂÂs feelings of satisfaction regarding the disclosure experience. Process components are the specific
elements of the disclosure moment that influence a parentâÂÂs ability to assimilate the
information shared by the child and subsequently allow for the integration of that
information into their schema of the child and the parent/child relationship. These two
categories are discussed along with a proposed framework for understanding them as
well as methods of integrating them into an individualâÂÂs coming out script. The findings
of the current study may be useful in helping gay and lesbian children develop more
successful and accessible coming out disclosures which are targeted towards their
parents. In addition, these results may guide the interventions of mental health
professionals as they work with individuals who are preparing to come out to their
parents. Future studies that address the specific components mentioned within this study
would be useful, as would studies which address the coming out phenomenon from the
perspective of other family members.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/4420 |
| Date | 30 October 2006 |
| Creators | Miller, Andrew D |
| Contributors | Brossart, Dan |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | 612463 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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