Coming-out issues for adult lesbians: a group intervention

This study investigated the effects of a 10-week, educational-experiential group intervention--the Coming Out Issues Group--designed to address issues pertinent to adult lesbians, including lesbian identity development, homophobia and heterosexism, religious concerns, career concerns, family issues, sexism and racism, and assertiveness skills development. The impact of the intervention was assessed using various instruments in four areas: (1) ego development, (2) lesbian identity development, (3) empowerment, and (4) disclosure. The results indicated modest gains in ego development and lesbian identity development and major gains in empowerment and disclosure.