New research from the University of Arizona suggests lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents who come out in high school have higher self esteem and lower levels of depression later on than kids who did not.

Stephen Russell, a Professor of Family Studies and Human Development at the UofA said he decided to look into this after serving as an expert witness in the case of a Florida school district that wanted to prevent students from forming a gay-straight alliance, over fears of bullying.

Russell researches the health and well-being of LGBT kids. His study was published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.