LGBTQ Youth’s Views on Gay-Straight Alliances: Building Community, Providing Gateways, and Representing Safety and Support

Details

• Personal Author:
  Eisenberg ME ; Fredkove W ; Gower AL ; Mehus CJ ; Porta CM ; Saewyc E ; Singer E
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) are school-based clubs that can contribute to a healthy school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. While positive associations between health behaviors and GSAs have been documented, less is known about how youth perceive GSAs. METHODS: A total of 58 LGBTQ youth (14-19 years old) mentioned GSAs during go-along interviews in 3 states/provinces in North America. These 446 comments about GSAs were thematically coded and organized using Atlas.ti software by a multidisciplinary research team. RESULTS: A total of 3 themes describe youth-perceived attributes of GSAs. First, youth identified GSAs as an opportunity to be members of a community, evidenced by their sense of emotional connection, support and belonging, opportunities for leadership, and fulfillment of needs. Second, GSAs served as a gateway to resources outside of the GSA, such as supportive adults and informal social locations. Third, GSAs represented safety. CONCLUSIONS: GSAs positively influence the physical, social, emotional, and academic well-being of LGBTQ young people and their allies. School administrators and staff are positioned to advocate for comprehensive GSAs. Study findings offer insights about the mechanisms by which GSAs benefit youth health and well-being. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Education Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Sex Characteristics
• Keywords:
  Adolescents Author Keywords: Adolescent Gay-straight Alliance Gender Factors Mental Health School-based Sexual Minority Teenagers
• ISSN:
  0022-4391
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; Minnesota ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  489-497
• Volume:
  87
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064176
• Citation:
  J Sch Health 2017 Jul; 87(7):489-497
• Contact Point Address:
  Carolyn M. Porta, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, 5-160 Weaver Densford Hall, 308 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414
• Email:
  porta@umn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of School Health
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e08e55d701e8cdf3e5d50bf42ef847081dc1a31fb62fbe9897270183fddd29e2770198c9410b4ae82e03ba2ce5b97afbbd47a6e83d7b1c8ac3748abfd1b23c48
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222682/cdc_222682_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 185.62 KB ]