Identity cues influence sexual minorities’ anticipated treatment and disclosure intentions in healthcare settings: Exploring a multiple pathway model

Abstract

The present work experimentally examines how identity cues that signal minority inclusion contribute to sexual minorities’ (SM) healthcare visit expectations. We find that minority representation cues reduced SM’s ( N = 188) expectations of a healthcare provider’s bias and increased perceived provider cultural competency which was, in turn, associated with lower anticipated identity-based devaluation and greater sexual orientation disclosure comfort. Providers’ diversity-valuing statements had mixed effects highlighting the importance of more concrete indicators of inclusion in this context. This work suggests that a lack of identity safety cues in healthcare settings may contribute to disparate health outcomes for sexual minority populations.