title: Family relationships and sexual orientation disclosure to family by gay and bisexual men in Jamaica.
abstract: Gay and bisexual men in Jamaica encounter stigma and discrimination due to criminalization of and negative attitudes towards same-sex sexuality. Disclosure of sexual orientation may be self-affirming, but could increase exposure to negative responses and stressors. Outcomes of an online survey among 110 gay and bisexual Jamaican men ages 18 to 56 years suggest that disclosure to family is affected by level of economic independence. Furthermore, negative familial responses to sexual identity significantly predicted depression. Social and structural interventions, and efforts to strengthen positive family relationships, are needed to foster an environment that enables well-being among sexual minorities in Jamaica.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, Tel: 1-876-927-1707, yohann.white02@uwimona.edu.jm ; yohannwhite@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yohann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; tgs2001@cumc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Theo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sandfort
authors.affiliation: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica; kaiandito@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: Jamaica Language Unit, Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica; karencarpent@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.affiliation: Department of Child & Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica.
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pierre
keywords: Jamaica; bisexual; disclosure; family relationship; gay