Covering Up or Coming Out? The Role of Social Media Engagement and Sexual Self-Identification in Disclosure of Sexual Orientation Among Stigmatized Gay and Bisexual Men.

Objectives: In increasingly internet-dependent societies, social media has become a safe space for sexual self-identification and disclosure among gay and bisexual men. Few studies have examined the underlying mechanisms linking social media engagement to sexual disclosure behaviors, particularly within non-Western contexts. Drawing on the uses and gratifications theory and the model of antecedents of disclosure of invisible stigmas, this study investigates whether sexual self-identification mediates the relationship between social media engagement and disclosure of sexual orientation, and whether this pathway is moderated by perceived public stigma. Methods: Using PROCESS macro models, we conducted both mediation and moderated mediation analyses of a sample of 366 Chinese gay and bisexual men to delineate the conditional pathways through which social media engagement contributed to their decision to come out. Results: The mediation analysis indicated that sexual self-identification mediated the relationship between social media engagement and disclosure of sexual orientation. However, the moderated mediation analysis revealed that this indirect effect hinged on levels of perceived public stigma, such that the benefits of sexual self-identification diminished under high levels of perceived public stigma. Conclusions: Our findings provide new empirical evidence for how social media engagement shapes identity development and disclosure behaviors among Chinese gay and bisexual men. The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of sexual self-identification processes within stigmatized contexts and carries implications for the development of culturally sensitive interventions and inclusive digital engagement strategies.