Identification of Strengths among Southwestern LGBTQ+ Young Adults

Research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth has predominantly operated within a risk framework, highlighting the risks youth face in their homes, schools, and communities and how these risks are associated with disparate mental health outcomes. This research has been important in establishing the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth and the need for interventions to reduce stigma and victimization and promote well-being. However, a predominant focus on risk fails to account for the strengths and resilience of LGBTQ+ youth and positions them as “at-risk” rather than as resilient. This chapter describes a study aiming to redress this gap in the literature by assessing the types of strengths LGBTQ+ young adults identify with and the association between their identified strengths and mental health. First, we provide a summary and critique of the literature on LGBTQ+ youth risks and strengths

Activism in Southwestern Queer and Trans Young Adults After the Marriage Equality Era

This is the author's accepted manuscript, published in Volume 34, Issue 4 of Affilia: Feminist Inquiry in Social Work. Reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses.In 2015, marriage equality in the United States was a big win for the gay and lesbian movement. Marriage equality as a primary focus of the movement, however, was not without its critiques, particularly as an issue affecting mostly white, gay, economically secure individuals. Given the history of the movement, it is essential to ask what is next. Young queer and trans people represent the next generation of potential activists and advocates for queer and trans liberation, yet little empirical attention has been paid to their goals for the movement and motivations to be actively involved, particularly among young adults in rural, conservative states. Therefore, this study sought to understand the social, economic, and environmental issues deemed important by queer and trans young adults (aged 18–29), as well as their motivations to get involved in activism efforts. Data came from a mixed-methods program evaluation, which presents a picture of the issues and motivations that led study participants (n = 65) toward activism in one conservative, highly rural, Southwestern state in the United States. The findings of this study are discussed in light of theoretical and empirical literature and then implications for the queer and trans movement, activists, and organizers are offered

Transphobia in Class, Anti-trans Legislation at the State: A Commentary on Navigating Harm and Hope in a Social Work Education Program

EG (they/them): I was misgendered on day one of my BSW program; isolation and transphobia continued for two years. While I did my best to advocate for myself, I learned that you can\u27t fight institutionally entrenched oppression alone. MP (they/them): EG joined my class mid-semester after repeated incidents of transphobia. For two years, during an onslaught of anti-trans policies across the U.S., we advocated for changes in our school and social work education. EG’s experience is not unique. Numerous studies document transphobia experienced by transgender and gender expansive (TGE) social work students and the lack of TGE content, visibility, and support for TGE students in social work education programs. Through a narrative reflection of our own experiences situated within the context of research on TGE students in social work, this commentary issues a call to action for social work education within the broader contexts of a national anti-trans political climate and the values and core competencies of social work education

Social and community support among nonmetropolitan gender and sexual minority youth: a mixed methods study

Gender and sexual minority (GSM) youth are growing up in a society that stigmatizes and marginalizes their identities, placing them at increased risk of victimization, physical and mental health problems, and educational disparities compared to heterosexual and cisgender youth. Rural GSM youth are at equal or greater risk for these negative outcomes than urban GSM youth. In spite of their risks, positive youth development (PYD) theory contends that all youth have the potential to thrive when their strengths are aligned with positive resources in their environment. Research aimed at reducing risk and promoting well-being for GSM youth has focused on urban youth in school settings; few studies have examined the role of communities, GSM community centers, and social supports in increasing or reducing risk among GSM youth living in varying community sizes. Additionally, although empirical evidence exists in support of PYD, this theory has rarely been used with GSM youth. The purpose of this study was to a) address the gaps in the literature on GSM youth and PYD by attending to the ways in which communities impact the provision of social and community support; and b) enhance understanding of the ways in which GSM youth living in rural, small, and mid-size communities get their needs for support met. A mixed methods design involved concurrent data collection from four sources. 1) Online surveys measuring perceived community climate, social support, and GSM community resources were administered to 14-18 year old GSM youth in Illinois (N=338). 2) A community climate protocol involved analyzing public data to measure community climate objectively at the county and municipal levels; public data were aggregated and merged with surveys by participant zip code. 3) In-depth interviews assessing youth’s perceptions of their communities, community climate, social support, and community GSM resources were conducted with 14-18 year old GSM youth in Central and Southern Illinois (n=34). 4) Participant observations were conducted with a GSM community center youth program (n=20 hours). Quantitative data were analyzed using bivariate, ANOVA, and logistic regression analyses. Qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Qualitative and quantitative data were integrated using the mixed methods analytic strategies of data comparison and typology development. Findings from this study illustrated complexities around the role of the community in increasing or reducing risk. Survey and climate analyses revealed that community climate and community size were significantly associated with the availability of GSM community-based resources, such that more supportive climates and larger communities had more resources. Community climate and size were not associated with utilization or unmet needs for GSM resources. Climate was also related to perceived social support among GSM adults and non-GSM peers; however, community size was not. Qualitative and mixed method analyses led to the development of an emergent model of support seeking among GSM youth in nonmetropolitan and small metropolitan communities. This model illustrates the importance of the community context for GSM youth. The community interacted with GSM youth’s needs for and potential sources of support, barriers and facilitators to support, benefits and drawbacks of support, and unmet needs. These findings suggest the need for a revised model of PYD that represents the experiences of GSM youth in small communities. The findings from this study have the potential to advance GSM youth and PYD research by attending to the role of communities, community climate, GSM community centers, and other sources of support for GSM youth in nonmetropolitan communities. Additionally, they serve to disrupt the narrative surrounding rural communities as inherently hostile toward GSM people. Implications for research, theory, policy, and practice are discussed

Fostering Research and Diversity Competencies for Students and Scholars: The Case of an Interdisciplinary Research Seminar

Social work education on LGBT populations has focused on practice with, rather than the challenges of research with, LGBT people. Similarly, scholarly attention has been paid to methods for teaching about research, but there is a lack of focus on the intricacies involved in conducting research with marginalized populations. To address this gap within social work education, the authors developed a new approach for teaching LGBT research and diversity competencies: a year-long LGBT Research Seminar. This outlines the process of developing the successful seminar and highlights the project outcomes

The Impact of Community Size, Community Climate, and Victimization on the Physical and Mental Health of SGM Youth

Paceley MS, Fish JN, Thomas MMC, Goffnett J. The Impact of Community Size, Community Climate, and Victimization on the Physical and Mental Health of SGM Youth. Youth & Society. 2020;52(3):427-448. Copyright © 2020, © SAGE Publications. doi:10.1177/0044118X19856141Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth experience high rates of victimization leading to health disparities. Community size and community climate are associated with health outcomes among SGM youth; however, we lack studies that include them as covariates alongside victimization to understand their collective impact on health. This study utilized minority stress theory to understand how community context shapes experiences of victimization and health among SGM youth. SGM youth in one Midwestern U.S. state completed an online survey (n = 201) with measures of physical health, mental health, community context, and victimization. Data were analyzed via multiple regression using a path analysis framework. Results indicate that perceived climate was associated with mental, but not physical, health; Community size was unrelated to health outcomes. Victimization mediated the association between community climate and mental health. Findings are discussed in light of current literature and implications for research and practice are shared

Joining the Club: Reflections on Developing and Implementing a Social Work Doctoral Student Organization

This article describes the development of a social work doctoral student organization to enhance student experiences at a Midwestern school of social work. Doctoral student organizations are consistent with research that emphasizes the importance of environmental factors in doctoral program completion. Social supports are especially important among increasingly diverse social work doctoral students whose needs likely differ from those of their more homogenous predecessors. The authors describe the process of creating a student organization; identify the association’s mission and activities; offer a reflective assessment, and provide recommendations for students interested in developing these organizations at their own institutions. We suggest that doctoral student organizations are feasible, affordable, and may enhance communication, mentoring, and the sense of community among doctoral social work students

“Thanks for hearing me out”: Voices of social work students during COVID-19

As social work educators and students, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted our teaching and learning in challenging ways. We embarked on a qualitative research study to better understand the ways in which the pandemic was affecting the social work students in our program. Three faculty mentors worked collaboratively with five social work students across BSW, MSW, and PhD programs to interview 66 BSW and MSW students about their experiences, challenges, and hopes during the early months of the pandemic. BSW and MSW students led the analysis and early dissemination for the project. This essay describes the unique experiences of social work students by using a research poem to capture the emotional and experiential aspects of the students we interviewed