TY - JOUR
T1 - Acceptance Concern and Life Satisfaction for Chinese LGBs
T2 - The Mediating Role of Self-Concealment
AU - Hu, Xiaowen
AU - Wang, Ying
AU - Wu, Chia huei
PY - 2013/11
Y1 - 2013/11
N2 - Past research has suggested that the acceptance concern of lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGB), defined as LGB individuals' sensitivity to negative judgement and rejection associated with their sexuality, is negatively related to subjective wellbeing. However, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. Drawing on social exchange theory, we propose that LGBs' self-concealment of sexuality is an important mediator, such that acceptance concern leads to a stronger tendency to conceal one's sexuality, which further causes lower life satisfaction. Furthermore, we expect that different social groups have a different psychological importance for LGB and thus, concealment from different target groups (i.e., family, friends and acquaintances) will have a differential impact on the mediating process. Using a sample of 152 Chinese students who self-identified as LGBs, we found that acceptance concern negatively predicted life satisfaction, and this effect was mediated by individuals' self-concealment of their sexuality. A closer examination at different social groups revealed that the mediation effect was only found when using self-concealment from the family as the mediator, indicating the important role played by family in shaping Chinese LGBs' wellbeing.
AB - Past research has suggested that the acceptance concern of lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGB), defined as LGB individuals' sensitivity to negative judgement and rejection associated with their sexuality, is negatively related to subjective wellbeing. However, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. Drawing on social exchange theory, we propose that LGBs' self-concealment of sexuality is an important mediator, such that acceptance concern leads to a stronger tendency to conceal one's sexuality, which further causes lower life satisfaction. Furthermore, we expect that different social groups have a different psychological importance for LGB and thus, concealment from different target groups (i.e., family, friends and acquaintances) will have a differential impact on the mediating process. Using a sample of 152 Chinese students who self-identified as LGBs, we found that acceptance concern negatively predicted life satisfaction, and this effect was mediated by individuals' self-concealment of their sexuality. A closer examination at different social groups revealed that the mediation effect was only found when using self-concealment from the family as the mediator, indicating the important role played by family in shaping Chinese LGBs' wellbeing.
KW - Acceptance concern
KW - Chinese LGB
KW - Life satisfaction
KW - Self-concealment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84884988778&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11205-012-0168-8
DO - 10.1007/s11205-012-0168-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84884988778
SN - 0303-8300
VL - 114
SP - 687
EP - 701
JO - SOCIAL INDICATORS RESEARCH
JF - SOCIAL INDICATORS RESEARCH
IS - 2
ER -