Gay Identity Development

Gay identity development is significantly different than heterosexual identity development. Through the various stages of gay identity development, which contains six stages developed by Cass, 1979; identity confusion, identity comparison, identity tolerance, identity acceptance, identity pride, and identity synthesis, we understand how complex gay identity is for these individuals. Logistically, understanding how gay identity development differs from heterosexuality identity development gives insight into the unique challenges gay individuals encounter. Navigating an identity through hate and prejudice presents itself with unique challenges for gay and lesbian individuals who are struggling with forming a healthy identity. It is through these challenges that gay and lesbian individuals suffer from higher rates of physical and mental health issues. This paper is a review of the literature and seminal knowledge to gain and gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the experiences and reasons that govern such behavior. The author’s role in this paper was to examine the how and why of decisions that such individuals make and encounter as demonstrated by numerical and statistical research analysis of literature reviews. Combating these mental health issues is a key goal for mental health professionals who are treating these gay and lesbian individuals. A look into the current model of gay identity development provides a greater understanding and helps researchers uncover objective knowledge for further research in the area of gay identity development. Keywords: Gay Identity Development, Identity Confusion, Comparison, Pride, Tolerance, Acceptance, and Synthesis