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Analyses of the “coming out” process posit two distinct mediators of the willingness to disclose one's homosexuality to others. Whereas some analyses focus on the individual's self-acceptance of his or her sexual orientation, others implicate gays' concerns with others' reactions to such disclosures. This study tested the efficacy of these models. One hundred and eighty-four lesbians and gay men completed a questionnaire that included, among other things, two measures of openness regarding their sexual orientation. On both indices, subjects' concerns with others' evaluations predicted substantially more of the variance in openness than the degree to which they accepted their own sexuality.
Franke et al. (Sun,) studied this question.