Revealing one's homosexuality to the family: An integrative review of the scientific literature

Abstract

Coming out in the family context is a subject that has not been widely investigated in the scientifi c literature. This study aimed to present an integrative review of the scientifi c literature to understand the repercussions of young adult homosexuals revealing their sexual orientation to their families. A total of 38 articles were retrieved from the LILACS, MEDLINE, PePSIC, PsycINFO and SciELO databases (January/2006-May/2016). Qualitative studies with homosexuals predominate, both with gays and lesbians, and others that highlight the role of the family in the coming out, which allows to know and identify issues related to the process of revelation or concealment of homosexuality. The studies also assessed the participation and feelings resulting from coming out to the family, with contexts in which confl icts prevailed observed and others in which there was acceptance by the family members. Cases in which young people turned to social networks as a support reference in the coming out process were also observed. There is a notable need for new studies on the theme, increasing the visibility of this process.