Identity Satisfaction Over the Life Course in Sexual Minorities

A variety of models have been proposed to understand the process of coming to terms with a sexual minority identity. What has not been so clearly explored is how an individual's satisfaction with his or her sexual identity develops over the life course. This article explores satisfaction with sexual identity in a large cohort (N = 2,269) of self-identified lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, and considers satisfaction not only from a chronos (life span) but also from a chairos (stage of development) framework. Data show a clear relationship between age group and increased satisfaction with a sexual minority identity. Resilience may be an important contributor to increased satisfaction.