Ricerc@Sapienza

Previous research has shown that the act of disclosing sexual orientation, known as coming out (CO), yields various benefits for gay and lesbian (GL) persons. Moreover, some researchers have found that CO is negatively related to internalized sexual stigma (ISS). However, most research has focused on CO to parents and a few studies have examined CO to siblings. The aim of this research is to deepen the understanding of the role of CO to siblings in protecting GL persons' wellbeing.

Epidemiological data indicate that risk behaviors are among the leading causes of adolescent morbidity and mortality worldwide. Consistent with this, laboratory-based studies of age differences in risk behavior allude to a peak in adolescence, suggesting that adolescents demonstrate a heightened propensity, or inherent inclination, to take risks. Unlike epidemiological reports, studies of risk taking propensity have been limited to Western samples, leaving questions about the extent to which heightened risk taking propensity is an inherent or culturally constructed aspect of adolescence.

Previous studies have indicated positivity as a basic trait which lies at the very heart of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and dispositional optimism, and predisposes people to view life and experience from a positive point of view. The present research addresses the extent to which age, positivity and its abovementioned expressions may be associated with healthy functioning in old age. Fifty-one men and eighty-one women, all Spanish, predominantly middle-class and educated, in good health and ranging in age from 62 to 80, participated in this research project.