The overarching goal of this dissertation is to elucidate the role of self-disclosures as a tool for coming out. Research on queer identity development hints at the importance of self-disclosures as a force propelling development while focusing on psychological mechanisms underlying these processes. Communication-based studies of coming out conversations focus on features on messages and conversations while implying their role in cultivating a queer identity. In this dissertation, I merge these two research interests to understand how queer people's identities develop as a function of communication. I employed a two-pronged approach in service of the overarching goal of the dissertation. First, to ensure the dissertation was accurately conceptualizing the phenomenon at hand, I conducted a study to probe how queer people define and experience coming out conversations. The first study reports on data collected from queer-identifying college students (n = 80). In this study, participants responded to open-ended questions about the nature of coming out conversations, such as how queer people define these conversations and how often these conversations occur. Results from this study highlighted distinctions in the way people conceive of coming out, which included turning-point conversations and more mundane conversations that might occur every day. Another finding revealed the variance in how often queer people experience these types of conversations, with responses ranging from every day to never occurring at all. I used these findings to theorize about queer identity development and self-disclosures, and I used these findings to guide decisions about the longitudinal study presented herein. Second, I conducted a longitudinal test of disclosure processes in coming out conversations. The disclosure processes model posits that disclosure conversations are characterized by goals, a disclosure event, short-term outcomes, and long-term outcomes. Moreover, disclosure events occur on multiple occasions, which creates a process in which people with concealable stigmatized identities can pursue visibility or concealment. I adapted this model to coming out conversations to see how queer people's identities, various perceptions, and mental well-being change over time. This study surveyed 303 queer-identifying adults between the ages of 18-29 years old. Participants were prompted to complete fours surveys, each two weeks apart. Employing multilevel regression and longitudinal structural equation modeling, I tested hypotheses and research questions derived from the disclosure processes model. The final chapter reports results of the longitudinal study and discusses broader implications of the dissertation. Results of the longitudinal study revealed (a) disclosure processes are affected by how conversations are initiated, (b) several outcomes changed in meaningful ways across time, (c) support for the theoretical model and its invariance across time, and (d) much of the disclosure process within coming out conversations tends to vary between-persons and is relatively consistent. Compiling results across all three studies, I conclude by considering practical implications for disclosers and confidants in coming out conversations.