Report

Parental Responses to Coming out by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Pansexual, or Two‐Spirited People across Three Age Cohorts

November 2020

This study explores the complexities and nuances in parental reactions to coming out by LGBQ+ individuals of various ethnicities and examines potential differences in the reactions among three age cohorts. It appeared in the Journal of Marriage and Family in November 2020.

AUTHORS
  • Diana D. van Bergen
    Professor, University of Groningen
  • Bianca D.M. Wilson
    Senior Scholar of Public Policy, Former
  • Stephen T. Russell
    Professor, University of Texas at Austin
  • Allegra R. Gordon
    Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
  • Esther D. Rothblum
    Distinguished Visiting Scholar
Highlights
Parental reactions were more shocked than negative in cohorts that came of age prior to the 1990s.
Invalidating responses from parents were frequent across all cohorts.
Referral to coming out as “just a phase,” or something a person was “too young know about,” was especially seen in younger cohorts.
Parental Responses to Coming out by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Pansexual, or Two‐Spirited People across Three Age Cohorts