Opening the closet door: Openness to experience, masculinity, religiosity, and coming out among same-sex attracted men

- How personality and individual differences relate to “coming out” is understudied.
- Greater openness was associated with coming out earlier, being out (vs. not out).
- Openness relations with coming out are over and above masculinity, religiosity, age.
- Later coming out among those low in openness, high in masculinity and religiosity

Contemporary models of sexual identity emphasize variability in “coming out”. To date, little research has examined the potential role of personality and individual differences. In a Canadian community sample of same-sex attracted men (N = 257), greater openness to experience (i.e., openness) and lower religiosity were associated with an earlier age of coming out. Further, openness was associated with an earlier age of coming out over and above childhood gender role, religiosity, and participant age. We also found a 3-way interaction, such that a particularly late age of coming out was found among highly masculine, highly religious men low in openness. Using a dichotomous measure, openness was also lower among those who had not come out (vs. those who were out). Our findings suggest potential barriers to coming out for same-sex attracted men with more conventional and traditional personality traits. Implications for understanding the coming out experience are discussed.