Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Does Self-Concept Clarity Relate to Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Gay Men? The Mediating Effects of Sexual Orientation Concealment and Gay Community Connectedness

  • Published:
Sexuality Research and Social Policy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Surveys have shown that Chinese gay men have high levels of depressive symptoms. Self-concept clarity is a critical intrapersonal psychological factor affording the alleviation of depressive symptoms. The objective of this research is to investigate whether self-concept clarity is related to depressive symptoms in gay men within the Chinese context and explore the specific mediation mechanisms of sexual orientation concealment and gay community connectedness.

Methods

Data were collected online from 405 Chinese gay men in 2020. Participants were assessed with scales regarding self-concept clarity, sexual orientation concealment, gay community connectedness, and depressive symptoms.

Results

Self-concept clarity was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms in Chinese gay men. The relation between self-concept clarity and depressive symptoms was mediated by sexual orientation concealment, and sexual orientation concealment and gay community connectedness also played a sequential mediation effect between self-concept clarity and depressive symptoms.

Conclusion

The improvement of self-concept clarity may be one of the foremost concerns for the decrease in depressive symptoms among Chinese gay men. Self-concept clarity is related to reduced depressive symptoms through lower sexual orientation concealment and higher gay community connectedness.

Policy Implications

Policy makers should provide more support for organizations and institutions that focus on improving the mental health of Chinese gay men and encourage these organizations and institutions to popularize effective self-adjustment methods (such as improving self-concept clarity) that can help reduce depressive symptoms among gay men. In addition, policy makers should take measures to further enhance social tolerance of homosexuality and provide more gay communication platforms for Chinese gay men.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Download references

Funding

This study was supported by Sichuan Sex Sociology and Sex Education Research Center Project (SXJYA2103).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Fang Li designed the study, analyzed the data, and wrote and revised the manuscript. Jundong Liao, Xianlin Sun, Tianyuan Yang, and Tiezhu Li collected and analyzed the data and revised the manuscript. Yibo Wang and Yusheng Mei collected the data and revised the manuscript. All the authors approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fang Li.

Ethics declarations

Ethics Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, F., Liao, J., Sun, X. et al. Does Self-Concept Clarity Relate to Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Gay Men? The Mediating Effects of Sexual Orientation Concealment and Gay Community Connectedness. Sex Res Soc Policy 19, 1506–1518 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00666-8

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00666-8

Keywords

Navigation