Exploring the links between interpersonal trust and the reasons underlyinggay and bisexual males' disclosure of their sexual orientation to their mothers

This paper examines the role that interpersonal trust plays in gay and bise xual males' accounts of the factors that led them to decide to reveal: or t o withhold their sexual identities from their mothers. Fifty men completed a questionnaire about their coming out experiences in the context of their relationships with their mothers. As part of this questionnaire, they indic ated whether or not they had disclosed their sexual orientation to their mo thers and explained the basis for their decision in this regard. A content analysis of the explanations offered supports findings from previous resear ch which suggest that a considerable range of motivations underlie the deci sion to disclose (or not to disclose). More importantly, consistent with ex pectations that the mother's trustworthiness would emerge as a principle co ncern in participants' responses, several of the classes of explanation ide ntified in disclosers' and non-disclosers' decision accounts suggest that t he move toward disclosure is guided in part by the climate of trust existin g in individuals' relationships with their mothers.