A study releases findings on LGBT adolescent school victimization and the implications for young adult health and adjustment.
Most recently, a new study in the current issue of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry highlights the positive and negative side of sharing a person’s gay or transgender identity with friends, family, and other adults during adolescence.
Coming out as a teen can be daunting for Fear of rejection and serious negative reactions kept many LGBT adults from openly sharing their lives.
Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adolescents disclose their sexual and/or gender identities to peers at school. Disclosure of LGBT status is linked with positive psychosocial adjustment for adults; however, for adolescents’, “coming out” has been linked to school victimization, which in turn is associated with negative adjustment.
LGBT youth have often been advised not to disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity for their own protection; and researchers also found that the negative effects of school victimization on psychosocial adjustment were related to LGBT identity, rather than bullying for other reasons.
Distinguished Professor, Stephen T. Russell, Ph.D. from the University of Arizona explains the teenage years are the most interesting phase of life in creating social change to support healthy adolescent development. He points out the positive role of coming out for youth and young adult wellbeing.
Is it worth the risk?
Analyzing data from the Family Acceptance Project’s young adult survey, researchers examined experiences related to disclosing LGBT status to others at school, school victimization and young adult psychosocial adjustment among 245 non-Latino white and Latino LGBT young adults, ages 21 to 25.
Disclosing LGBT identity to others helps protect against risk, eliminates levels of depression in young adulthood, and helps promote self-esteem and overall health. Interpersonal support and guidance are needed to help students and parents support positive development for LGBT adolescents.
Coming out is the process in which a person first acknowledges, accepts and appreciates his or her sexual orientation or gender identity and begins to share that with others. It can sometimes be met with pain, misunderstanding, and hardship but it will always give the person the ability to become visible.
“This study has important implications for how adults and caregivers support LGBT youth,” said Caitlin Ryan, Ph.D., Director of the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University and study co-author. “We know from our other studies that requiring LGBT adolescents to keep their LGBT identities secret or not to talk about them is associated with depression, suicidal behavior, illegal drug use and risk for HIV. And helping them learn about and disclose their LGBT identity to others helps protect against risk and helps promote self-esteem and overall health.”
For more information, please visit http://familyproject.sfsu.edu