aamc.org does not support this web browser.

    Being Out: National Coming Out Day Youth Report

    Download the Report

    Description

    Being Out: National Coming Out Day Youth Report describes U.S. LGBT youths’ experiences of “coming out” and being open about their sexual orientation and gender identity. Based on the responses of 10,000 LGBT-identified youth ages 13 to 17 in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Growing Up LGBT in America survey, the report highlights statistics on whom LGBT youth come out to; differences between out and non-out youth, and reasons youth have chosen not to come out. 61 percent of participants were out at school, and 56 percent were out to their immediate family. Youth who are out to their immediate family were more likely to be happy than those who are not (41 percent vs 33 percent), and twice as likely to have a trusted adult they could talk to (63 percent vs 31 percent). Out youth were slightly more likely to have experienced harassment at school. Among youth who were not out at school, the most common reason was concern that they would be “treated differently or judged” (31 percent), with 26 percent saying they did not feel they needed to come out. Another 9 percent feared bullying if they came out. Among youth not out to their families, 30 percent said their family was “not accepting” of LGBT people, 19 percent were scared or unsure about how their family would react, and 16 percent cited “religious reasons.”

    Learning Objectives

    After viewing this video, the learner will be able to:

    • To identify predictors of openness about sexual orientation and gender identity among U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth.

    • To understand reasons youth choose not to disclose their LGBT identities at school, among peers, and within their families.

    • To identify differences in psychosocial outcomes among youth who are open or not open about their LGBT identities.

    Authors

    The Human Rights Campaign Foundation

    Related Resources