מאפייני הפנייה לעזרה של מתבגרים וצעירים גאים כחלק מתהליך היציאה מהארון: מבט לאחור (Hebrew)

Characteristics of the Help-Seeking Process among LGBT Adolescents and Young Adults during the Process of Coming Out: A Retrospective View. (English)

The current pilot study focused on the sources of help and support that LGBT adolescents and young adults turn to during their process of coming out, based on retrospective reports. As part of the crystallization of their sexual identity, LGBT adolescents and young adults face many difficulties. They notice the difference between themselves and their immediate environment, which is often heterosexual, and thus experience shame and loneliness. In their process of coming out, which is often characterized by confusing and conflicting elements, they are likely to seek help and support. In this study, we collected almost 180 reports of LGBT youngsters describing their help-seeking behaviors in their process of coming out retrospectively, and analyzed them in light of models and studies on adolescents' help-seeking. Using an internet self-report questionnaire, participants described the first source of help they chose to turn to and the most significant one, the considerations that led them to choose those sources; and the types of help they received. We also examined the relationship between the reports and some demographic variables (gender and age of the participant at the time of turning to seeking help). The findings suggest that friends are the preferred source of help for LGBT. Besides friends, LGBT turn to their family and to formal sources for help. About one-third of participants turned to a source, which describes himself/herself as LGBT, as part of their first approach to help-seeking. The most common consideration used to select the source of help is closeness or an expectation of understanding, and the most expected and received type of help is emotional support. Based on content analysis, we presented characteristics for the most significant help they received. In the discussion we focused on three main issues: the importance of the types of sources of help in the process of coming out; the sexual identity of the source of help and how it influenced the help-seeking; and the unique place of emotional help as a main component in the process of coming out. We proposed some practical implications regarding the sources of help-seeking in the process of coming out and suggest further research to broaden the discussion on this matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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