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Negative Parental Responses to Coming Out and Family Functioning in a Sample of Lesbian and Gay Young Adults
Roberto Baiocco • Lilybeth Fontanesi • Federica Santamaria • Salvatore Ioverno •
Barbara Marasco • Emma Baumgartner • Brian L. B. Willoughby •
Fiorenzo Laghi
Published online: 27 March 2014
� Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract Parental responses to youths’ coming out (CO)
are crucial to the subsequent adjustment of children and
family. The present study investigated the negative
parental reaction to the disclosure of same-sex attraction
and the differences between maternal and paternal
responses, as reported by their homosexual daughters and
sons. Participants’ perceptions of their parents’ reactions
(evaluated through the Perceived Parental Reactions Scale,
PPRS), age at CO, gender, parental political orientation,
and religiosity involvement, the family functioning
(assessed through the Family Adaptability and Cohesion
Evaluation Scales), were assessed in 164 Italian gay and
lesbian young adults. Pearson correlation coefficients were
calculated to assess the relation between family functioning
and parental reaction to CO. The paired sample t test was
used to compare mothers and fathers’ scores on the PPRS.
Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to analyze
the relevance of each variable. No differences were found
between mothers and fathers in their reaction to the dis-
closure. The analysis showed that a negative reaction to
CO was predicted by parents’ right-wing political conser-
vatism, strong religious beliefs, and higher scores in the
scales Rigid and Enmeshed. Findings confirm that a neg-
ative parental reaction is the result of poor family resources
to face a stressful situation and a strong belief in traditional
values. These results have important implications in both
clinical and social fields.
Keywords Coming out � Disclosure � Lesbian and gay young adults � Parental reactions � Family functioning
Introduction
The coming-out (CO) process, defined as the sharing of
one’s sexual orientation with others, has been described as
an essential component in lesbian and gay (LG) identity
formation and integration (Cass 1979; Legate et al. 2012).
Identity integration includes acceptance of one’s gay, les-
bian, or bisexual identity, and sharing this aspect of the self
with other individuals. Previous researches have indicated
that CO process may have positive effects on relationships
with others (e.g., improving authenticity of a friendship),
the construction of self-identity, and mental health (e.g.,
decreased hypervigilance/anxiety) (Baiocco et al. 2012;
Shilo and Savaya 2011; Vaughan and Waehler 2010).
Erikson’s model of sexual identity development (1959,
1982) posits that certain stages and ‘‘tasks’’ must be nav-
igated successfully to form a healthy personality. These
eight steps go through the implementation of tasks con-
cerning trust, differentiation, autonomy and the manage-
ment of doubts, fear and conflict, inside the family and the
society (Erikson 1982). According to this point of view,
CO can be assimilated into a developmental task. For LG
adolescents, this process may be growth-enhancing event
and is highly important to developing an integrated identity
and for strengthening self-esteem (Henry 2013). Such
R. Baiocco (&) � L. Fontanesi � S. Ioverno � B. Marasco � E. Baumgartner � F. Laghi Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Faculty of
Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome,
Italy
e-mail: roberto.baiocco@uniroma1.it
F. Santamaria
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of
Messina, Messina, Italy
B. L. B. Willoughby
Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables,
FL, USA
123
J Child Fam Stud (2015) 24:1490–1500
DOI 10.1007/s10826-014-9954-z
experiences of growth may provide sexual minorities with
important strengths that can be used to effectively manage
stress related to their minority status (Lingiardi et al. 2012;
Meyer 1995, 2003). However, despite the potential benefits
of CO, there are also associated stressors, which can have a
deleterious impact on physical and psychological health
(Frost et al. 2013). These stressors can include family
rejection, bullying, discrimination and prejudices (Frost
et al. 2013; Guzzo et al. 2014). The CO process may also
place significant strain on family relationships, cause inter-
parental conflict, and exacerbate parent mental health
issues (e.g., Willoughby et al. 2008). Given this, a strong
and cohesive family, displaying adequate resources to
manage stressful situations, may provide a supportive
environment for the LG adolescent who decides to come
out. The majority of LG young people often do not have
access to positive models (i.e., parents often do not share
the same sexual orientation) and their families may reject
their sexual orientation (Bos et al. 2004). In the American
context, research indicate that as many as 52 % of parents
may initially react negatively to their child’s disclosure of
same sex attractions (D’augelli et al. 2008). The negative
consequences of rejecting reactions from parents range
from depression (Legate et al. 2012), negative LG identity
(Willoughby et al. 2010), and substance abuse (Baiocco
et al. 2010) to, in some extreme cases, suicide (Ryan et al.
2009). On the other hand, a supportive and positive family
environment is associated with positive young adult health
outcomes, such as low level of internalized sexual stigma,
depression and suicidal idealization, and high level of
social support and self-esteem (Baiocco et al. 2012;
D’Augelli and Grossman 2001; Hoffman et al. 2009; Lo
Cascio et al. 2013; Pace et al. 2012; Resnick et al. 1997;
Russell 2003; Ryan et al. 2010).
Italy, where the present study was conducted, is a
family-oriented society in which adolescents and young
adults are more extensively involved with their extended
families than members of other Western societies (Baiocco
et al. 2013; Pallini and Laghi 2012). LG men in Italy fre-
quently confront a roster of biases and prejudices and a
greater level of gender segregation in their daily lives
(Lingiardi et al. 2012). Previous studies in Italy, in fact,
have found high levels of internalized sexual stigma in gay
and lesbian adolescents and young adults (Baiocco et al.
2010, 2012; Lingiardi et al. 2012). Thus, a supportive
family environment becomes extremely significant, since
Italian culture is characterized by a great level of gender
segregation. Widespread heterosexism in society estab-
lishes that the only normatively acceptable sexual behav-
iors are heterosexual (Herek and Garnets 2007). In Italy,
LG adolescents and young adults encounter many diffi-
culties and may be afraid of disclosing their sexual orien-
tation because of unfavorable outcomes such as social
rejection and discrimination, which are realistic
possibilities.
Parental rejection at the time of disclosure is a strong,
negative event that can affect all aspects of an adolescent’s
life, and it is crucial to understand how this reaction is
elicited and how to support parent, child, and family
adjustment following the disclosure. This process is well
described by the Family Stress Theory (Patterson 2002),
developed with the purpose of explaining how and why
stressful events negatively affect the wellbeing of the
family and, as already underlined, the disclosure could be
one of these events.
According to this theory, within which the present
research is developed, parental reactions to CO is the result
of three main elements: a family’s relational capabilities
and competences, family members’ beliefs about meanings
of stressful events, and the amount of stressors that
undermine family stability (Willoughby et al. 2008).
Family-based resources, such as cohesion, adaptability, and
flexibility, may represent valuable predictors to understand
how the family will react to their child’s CO (Carnelley
et al. 2011). The literature underlines how families, with
adequate relational capacities, coping abilities, and a higher
level of resilience, often face difficult events in supportive
ways, such as displaying a more positive reaction to their
sons and daughters’ sexual orientation disclosures (Lavee
and Olson 1991; Willoughby et al. 2006).
As mentioned above, CO to family, especially to par-
ents, is often the biggest challenge for same-sex attracted
young people (Savin-Williams 2005; Savin-Williams and
Ream 2003; Savin-Williams and Dube 1998). However,
despite the risk of disapproval and victimization, the
majority of gay and lesbian adolescents decide to come out
to their parents (LaSala 2000). A handful of studies (Ben-
Ari 1995; D’Augelli et al. 2002; LaSala 2000; Saltzburg
2004; Savin-Williams 2001; Willoughby et al. 2006) have
examined parents’ initial reactions to their youth’s CO.
Literature underlines the relevance of the following vari-
ables for predicting parents’ negative reactions to CO:
parental age (i.e., older parents react more negatively;
Baiocco et al. 2013; Savin-Williams 2001), lower levels of
parental education (Conley 2011), involvement in tradi-
tional religious associations (Baiocco et al. 2013b; Schope
2002), traditional values about family and marriage
(Newman and Muzzonigro 1993), and more traditional
attitudes regarding sex roles (Cramer and Roach 1988).
Concerning those factors, parental reaction is affected by
the meaning each member of the family gives to the dis-
closure. This process involves not only religious beliefs,
political ideology, but also cultural and educational back-
grounds. If one or both parents hold preexisting negative
beliefs and values about homosexuality, then they may be
repulsed by the disclosure (Cramer and Roach 1988). More
J Child Fam Stud (2015) 24:1490–1500 1491
123
specifically, these beliefs affect their personal beliefs about
the causes of homosexuality: believing that homosexuality
is learned rather than, for example, genetic; holding gay
and…
