Protest, Panic, Policy, and Parades: Memory for Cultural-Historical Events and Psychosocial Identity in the LGBTQ+ Community

Scholars have increasingly called for the centering of cultural-historical forces in research on psychosocial identity, particularly when that research seeks to understand development among marginalized groups. Accordingly, in this study, we investigated cultural-historical events considered important to members of the LGBTQ+ community and examined the association between event internalization and psychosocial identity. Participants were a college and community sample of LGBTQ+ adults (N = 495) ranging in age from 17 to 80 years (M = 39.22, SD = 19.89) and representing three generational cohorts. In an online survey, participants reported up to six cultural-historical events considered important to their LGBTQ+ identities and rated those events for statements reflecting internalization. They also completed questionnaires assessing psychosocial identity. Results showed that 443 participants reported at least one cultural-historical event, with a total of 1,280 events reported. Cultural-historical events were coded into thematic categories. From most to least frequent, these categories were policy and legislation; adversity and oppression; protest, resistance, and activism; community, celebration, and commemoration; public figures and visibility; and media, culture, and technology. We found no relation between the number of events reported and psychosocial identity, although there were moderate to strong positive associations between event internalization and psychosocial identity, and this association was strongest for the older cohort. Among the younger cohort, internalization of events occurring before the participants' lifetime was the strongest predictor of psychosocial identity. These findings suggest that cultural-historical events represent a developmental resource for LGBTQ+ people. Public Significance Statement In this study, internalization of LGBTQ+ cultural-historical events was positively associated optimal psychosocial identity among LGBTQ+ people. The social transmission of cultural-historical event narratives through, for example, intergenerational storytelling, may represent a culturally sustaining practice and developmental resource for the LGBTQ+ community.