People who are stigmatized along concealable features (e.g., individuals reporting adverse childhood experiences) often experience challenges to the self-concept, which can promote psychological distress. Developing a stigmatized identity might counter these effects, but the internality of concealable features can forestall this process: individuals may look to similarly-stigmatized others, but if these group members remain concealed (i.e., are not "out"), they are less identifiable as guides for development. In two studies (