ABSTRACT
In this chapter we investigate parent–child relations among a group of 202 youth (ages 14–21) in the process of self-identification as gay or lesbian (also know as the “coming out” process). From data collected in a larger interdisciplinary, developmental, and anthropological investigation (Herdt, Boxer, & Irvin, 1986) we examine the effects of the youth’s self-disclosure of their sexual orientation to parents on their parental relations (with mothers and fathers), as reported by the youth. We also briefly examine this process from the point of view of a group of parents, based on pilot interviews with 50 parents whose young adult children had disclosed their gay or lesbian identities to them.
