Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM) may repress gay, bisexual identities due to internalized homophobia and other sociocultural influences. The impact of Latino traditional gender roles, machismo and caballerismo, have not been examined with LMSM who may or may not identify as gay or bisexual. The purpose of the present study is to examine relations between self-labeled sexual identity, sexual identity developmental status, and traditional gender norms among Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM). The sample consisted of 499 LMSM, (Mage = 30.79), who endorsed engaging in same-sex sexual behavior. Results suggest evidence of concurrent validity of The Measure of Sexual Identity Exploration and Commitment (MoSIEC) with LMSM. Also, men who identified as heterosexual reported relatively higher levels of machismo and caballerismo. Implications for sexual identity development theory and research with LMSM is provided.

The rates of anxiety, depression, and attempted suicide for transgender individuals are extremely elevated relative to the general population. Yet, little research has been conducted about the transgender population regarding social transition (an individual presenting as their authentic/true gender, one different than the gender they were assigned at birth, in the context of everyday life) and parental acceptance. Both of which have been shown to impact the mental health of transgender individuals. The purposes of this study were: (1) To characterize a sample of transgender adults on their age of awareness of their authentic gender identity and their age of social transition. (2) Examine whether age of social transition, (3) parental acceptance, and (4) the gap in time between age of awareness and age of social transition (awareness-transition gap) were related to mental health. (5) Examine whether parental acceptance was related to age of social transition or to awareness-transition gap. (6) Examine whether age of social transition or awareness-transition gap interact with parental acceptance as correlates of mental health. The sample consisted of 115 transgender adults, ages 18 to 64. Measures were separated into 7 subheadings: demographics, transgender
on-cisgender identity, age of awareness, age of social transition, primary caregiver acceptance, secondary caregiver acceptance, and mental health. Hypotheses were partially supported for age of social transition with mental health, parental acceptance with mental health, and awareness-transition gap with parental acceptance. This study investigated under studied concepts of social transition and parental acceptance that appear to have an effect on the mental health of transgender adults.