Table 1.

Testable hypotheses of the Developmental Model of the Closet.

Testable Hypotheses of the Pre-closet Period

Hypothesis 1. Youth in the pre-closet period (who will later identify as sexual minorities) who live in high-structural stigma contexts are vicariously socialized to expect rejection or victimization upon disclosure and therefore delay coming out.

Hypothesis 2. Given the pervasive influence of structural stigma, individuals who will later identify as sexual minorities are likely to internalize its negative messages and ascribe any early sense of difference to the content of these messages during the pre-closet period.

Hypothesis 3. The mental health and social functioning of individuals in the pre-closet period (before coming out) is a function of the structural stigma of their surroundings. For sexual minorities who report an early feeling of difference, perhaps especially likely for those who exhibit gender non-conforming behaviors and interests, the adverse influence of structural stigma is particularly strong.

Hypothesis 4. Pre-closet experiences of structural stigma, personal differences perceived as negative, and their interaction strongly determine if, when, and how one comes out.

Testable Hypotheses of the Closet Period

Hypothesis 5. The stress of the closet is exacerbated for sexual minorities who arrive at the closet during adolescence (as opposed to later in life), given the stressful developmental challenges of this developmental period.

Hypothesis 6. The psychological costs of secrecy documented in existing research are likely to be exacerbated in the closet given the absolute secrecy (i.e., no disclosure at any time to anyone) that the closet entails.

Hypothesis 7. Because the closet keeps sexual minorities hidden from each other, sexual minorities in the closet face barriers to accessing sexual minority role models, who can facilitate decisions of whether to come out and the navigation of closet-related and post-closet challenges.

Hypothesis 8. Experiences of victimization and vicarious victimization may be especially harmful to sexual minorities during the closet period due to their self-awareness of their sexual minority status and relative lack of outlets through which they can process negative identity-related experiences and solicit more affirming information.

Testable Hypotheses of the Post-closet Period

Hypothesis 9. The negative adaptations of the closet might continue to pose mental health challenges even upon coming out, especially when one’s closet-related challenges were especially severe and especially under negative post-closet environmental conditions (e.g., high structural stigma, pervasive negative reactions from others).

Hypothesis 10. Supportive post-closet conditions (e.g., low structural stigma, positive reactions upon disclosure) allow closet-related adaptations to transform into sources of growth rather than persistent drains on mental health.

Testable Hypotheses of Moderators of the Model

Hypothesis 11. One’s endorsement and centrality of a sexual minority identity during each of the model’s periods shapes an individual’s experiences of stressors and resiliencies during that period.

Testable Hypotheses of Interventions for the Model’s Components

Hypothesis 12. Structural improvements improve mental health through reducing the adaptations required by the closet and its duration.

Hypothesis 13. Affirming school, family, community, and individual interventions buffer against structural stigma to reduce pre-closet internalization of negative cultural ideologies and closet-related stressors and adaptations and support post-closet growth.