title: Who Comes Out With Their Mental Illness and How Does It Help?
abstract: Coming out with mental illness may be an effective strategy for reducing self-stigma. This study examined predictors and consequences of coming out. Participants (N = 106) with severe mental illness who reported being out (n = 79) or not out (n = 27) endorsed benefits of being out (BBOs) and reasons for staying in. Predictors from baseline measures were self-stigma, insight, and psychiatric diagnosis. Three outcome measures-basic psychological needs, care engagement, and depression-were also completed at baseline and 1-month follow-up. Among participants already out, BBOs and reasons for staying in were significantly and independently associated with self-stigma, insight, and lifetime affective diagnoses. In terms of consequences, BBOs were associated with cross-sectional and 1-month measures of engagement for those already out, but not for closeted participants. Among closeted participants, BBOs were associated with baseline and 1-month measures of basic psychological needs. Implications for strategies meant to promote disclosure in order to decrease self-stigma are considered.
authors.affiliation: *Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL; and †Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Patrick W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Corrigan
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Michaels
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bink
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sheehan
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Bethany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Apa
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Khouja
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D057545:Social Stigma; D014342:Truth Disclosure