Candidate: Teresa S. Lance

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

Title: More than In and Out of the Classroom Closet: A Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Teachers' Identity Management Strategies

Committee:Dr. James Croteau, Chair
Dr. Mary Anderson
Dr. Allison Young

Date: Friday, March 17, 2006 11:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
Mertz Tate Center, 3208 Sangren Hall

Abstract: Several advancements in the study of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals' workplace sexual identity management are Anderson, Croteau, Chung, and DiStefano's (2001) Workplace Sexual Identity Management Measure (WSIMM) and Lidderdale, Croteau, Anderson, Murray, and Davis' (in press) Workplace Sexual Identity Management (WSIM) social cognitive model of identity management. Both the measure and the model incorporate Griffin's (1992) categorization of four identity management strategies (i.e., passing, covering, implicitly out, and explicitly out). The current study incorporated these two advancements in the study of LGB individuals' workplace sexual identity management. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the psychometric properties of a revised version the WSIMM, to investigate the workplace sexual identity management strategies of LGB teachers, and to gain further understanding of the complex process LGB individuals navigate related to managing their sexual identity at work by exploring the role of perceived barriers and coping-efficacy in their decision-making process. Perceived barriers and coping-efficacy related to workplace sexual identity management had not been explored prior to this study.

The participants were 64 LGB K-12 teachers from across the country. The results indicated that three of the four WSIMM-R scales had acceptable estimates of reliability and that two of the scales (i.e., Passing and Implicitly Out) were problematic. The analysis of factors proposed to affect how the LGB teachers in the study manage their sexual identity in the workplace yielded several statistically significant results. Specifically, differences were found based on sexual orientation and type of school district (i.e., rural, suburban, urban). A difference in participants perception of barriers was found related whether participants knew other LGB teachers within their building. Also, participants who implement covering strategies endorsed lower levels of coping efficacy, while those who implement explicitly out strategies endorsed a higher level of coping efficacy. A full discussion of the results is presented, as well as implications of the findings and directions for future research.

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