2025/12/25 by Naomi Inman, Veronica Hanna-Walker, Madeline J. Hebert +4 · 1 voice
Psychology · Social Sciences · #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Gender Studies in Language #Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/14681994.2025.2605461
openalex created_date 2025/12/25 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) expression are key elements of LGBTQ+ young adults’ identities. The ability to safely and authentically express SOGI is crucial to LGBTQ+ individuals’ mental health and well-being. However, many LGBTQ+ young adults strategically decide how to express or conceal their identities in different social contexts to avoid SOGI-related stigma and discrimination. In the current paper, we used a developmental assets framework to examine open-ended survey responses of LGBTQ+ college students’ (N = 190, Mage=19.6; 36.8% bisexual; 47.9% cisgender women) perceptions of how their ability to express their SOGI differed during an academic break compared to during the semester. Participants most frequently described their SOGI expression over break as partially inhibited (35.8%), followed by fully inhibited (28.9%), no change (27.9%), and least likely, improved (10.0%). These findings have important implications for the critical role that SOGI expression plays in LGBTQ+ young adults’ mental health and well-being.