Fundamental Researcher Attributes: Reflections on Ways to Facilitate Participation in Community Psychology Doctoral Dissertation Research

As novice researchers, Community Psychology doctoral students encounter fresh challenges when they attempt to facilitate participation by members of the community in their dissertation projects. This article presents the merit in adopting fundamental researcher attributes, which have been described in published academic literature as personal characteristics that facilitate participation by members of the community in research studies. The value of these researcher attributes is exemplified in the discussion of one of the author’s experiences in the early stages of his dissertation research process. This article also presents new researcher attributes for facilitating participation by community members that the author recognised after critical reflection on his experiences during the same research process. Cultural humility, shared vulnerability, reflexivity, methodological flexibility, academic assiduity and creative resourcefulness are researcher attributes doctoral students should consider adopting and developing if they intend to facilitate participation by members of the community in their dissertation projects

“River of life, rapids of change”: Understanding HIV vulnerability among Two-Spirit youth who migrate to Toronto

Like most large urban centres in Canada, Toronto is a magnet for two-spirit youth who leave reserve communities and smaller cities and towns seeking safety and a sense of community. The Youth Migration Project was a community-based research project that was formed out of increasing community concern for these youth as well as other lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender young people. Despite increasing HIV incidence among two-spirit youth, little is understood about how their migration experiences might heighten their risk for HIV infection. We interviewed thirteen two-spirit youth to better understand how migrating to a large urban centre like Toronto is linked to heightened HIV vulnerability. We also interviewed an additional eight key informants seeking their insights into the same questions. Two-spirit youth spoke of escaping abusive, oppressive and homophobic home communities, and their dreams of a better life in Toronto. Once they arrived in Toronto, however, the illusion of an accepting and welcoming community was shattered. Racism, poverty, unemployment, unstable housing, inaccessible services, and sexual exploitation were commonly experienced by two-spirit youth. Many coped with their new situations by engaging in survival sex to pay the bills, or by using substances to cope with isolation, loss, and emotional pain. These factors can lead to potentially heightened risk situations for HIV among migrant two-spirit youth. In addition to a series of recommendations intended to meet their immediate service needs, we propose numerous strategies for longer-term change to improve quality of life for migrant two-spirit youth

The Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Youth Program (LGBYP): Quality of Life for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

Lesbian, gay, bisexual youth face formidable risks caused by societal stigmatization of homosexuality. Responding to these needs requires approaches beyond traditional and individualizing counselling supports. The Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth Program (LGBYP) of Central Toronto Youth Services can serve as a unique model for those wishing to develop more appropriate community-based services for these youth. Its programs enhance quality of life for lesbian, gay and bisexual youth through empowerment-focussed counselling, action research, advocacy and community development, and community education. This article outlines LGBYP’s programs, the principles which guide them, and the unique role they play in addressing hte broad needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth

Stakeholder Perspectives on Ontario's Bill 13: A Macrosystem-level Intervention Supporting Gay-Straight Alliances and Other Initiatives Affirming LGBT Youth

Researchers have argued for the positive impact education legislation can have as a macrosystem-level intervention on the implementation of microsystem- and mesosystem-level interventions (e.g., Gay-Straight Alliances) empirically documented to support sexual and gender minority students. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative Community-Based Research study that explored the perspectives of advocates for LGBT students from Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, on the impact of Bill 13; a bill purportedly proposed to address the needs of minority youth in publicly-funded schools. This paper emphasizes the value of legislation that is able to both explicitly mandate the implementation of LGBT-affirming initiatives empirically recognized to promote student mental health, and provide flexibility for advocates to develop new initiatives that will meet the specific needs of their minority students.&nbsp

Stakeholder Perspectives on Ontario's Bill 13: A Macrosystem-level Intervention Supporting Gay-Straight Alliances and Other Initiatives Affirming LGBT Youth

Researchers have argued for the positive impact education legislation can have as a macrosystem-level intervention on the implementation of microsystem- and mesosystem-level interventions (e.g., Gay-Straight Alliances) empirically documented to support sexual and gender minority students. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative Community-Based Research study that explored the perspectives of advocates for LGBT students from Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, on the impact of Bill 13; a bill purportedly proposed to address the needs of minority youth in publicly-funded schools. This paper emphasizes the value of legislation that is able to both explicitly mandate the implementation of LGBT-affirming initiatives empirically recognized to promote student mental health, and provide flexibility for advocates to develop new initiatives that will meet the specific needs of their minority students.&nbsp

The Success of Gay–Straight Alliances in Waterloo Region, Ontario: A Confluence of Political and Social Factors

This article outlines how gay–straight alliances (GSAs) work to connect youth with community resources, and outlines the political and social context of GSAs in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Fifteen individuals (youth, teachers, and a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ] youth service provider) participated in interviews about the role of GSAs in creating supportive school environments for LGBTQ youth and their allies. Analyses of the interview data found that, apart from providing direct support to LGBTQ students, GSAs in Waterloo Region decrease isolation by connecting youth with other LGBTQ community members, events, and resources. This article discusses how the confluence of government and school board policy and community agency support facilitates the implementation, maintenance, and success of GSAs

Enacted stigma, mental health, and protective factors among transgender youth in Canada

Purpose: We aimed to assess the Minority Stress Model which proposes that the stress of experiencing stigma leads to adverse mental health outcomes, but social supports (e.g., school and family connectedness) will reduce this negative effect. Methods: We measured stigma-related experiences, social supports, and mental health (self-injury, suicide, depression, and anxiety) among a sample of 923 Canadian transgender 14- to 25-year-old adolescents and young adults using a bilingual online survey. Logistic regression models were conducted to analyze the relationship between these risk and protective factors and dichotomous mental health outcomes among two separate age groups, 14- to 18-year-old and 19- to 25-year-old participants. Results: Experiences of discrimination, harassment, and violence (enacted stigma) were positively related to mental health problems and social support was negatively associated with mental health problems in all models among both age groups. Among 14–18 year olds, we examined school connectedness, family connectedness, and perception of friends caring separately, and family connectedness was always the strongest protective predictor in multivariate models. In all the mental health outcomes we examined, transgender youth reporting low levels of enacted stigma experiences and high levels of protective factors tended to report favorable mental health outcomes. Conversely, the majority of participants reporting high levels of enacted stigma and low levels of protective factors reported adverse mental health outcomes. Conclusion: While these findings are limited by nonprobability sampling procedures and potential additional unmeasured risk and protective factors, the results provide positive evidence for the Minority Stress Model in this population and affirm the need for policies and programs to support schools and families to support transgender youth

Beyond the Dialectics and Polemics: Canadian Catholic Schools Addressing LGBT Youth Issues

In 2012, Canadian media coverage on Bill 13—an Ontario legislative proposal to require all publicly funded schools to support Gay-Straight Alliances as a means of addressing issues concerning bullied lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students—instigated a divisive exchange among representatives of the Ontario Catholic school sector. Beyond these dialectics and polemics, a proactive mix of advocates from schools in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) of Ontario took steady steps to address the circumstances of their LGBT students. This study included semi-structured interviews with ten stakeholders from the WCDSB to determine if strategies and programs deemed successful for supporting LGBT students in public, secular schools in the United States could also be successful in supporting LGBT students in publicly funded Canadian Catholic schools. The study findings revealed that the strategies and programs could indeed be successful in supporting LGBT students in Canadian Catholic schools. We further found that the success of strategies and programs was influenced by factors such as acknowledging the priority of LGBT youth’s needs over ongoing disputes, realizing the significant influence of Catholic values, and recognizing the necessity for school boards to maintain legitimacy as publicly funded institutions

The Ontario Sexual Health Education Update: Perspectives from the Toronto Teen Survey (TTS) Youth

Sexual health education in schools is a controversial topic. In 2015 an updated version of the sex education program was introduced to schools in the Province of Ontario, Canada. The curriculum received strong criticism from some parents and lobby groups. Similar objections led to the Ontario Liberal government withdrawing the previous sex education program update in 2010. Public debates about the appropriateness of the new curriculum are primarily concerned with the extent to which parents were consulted. Absent from these discussions are the opinions of the curriculum’s target group: students. What do young people have to say about their sexual health education, and how can this information be used to provide more effective programs in schools? In this article we draw on the findings of the Toronto Teen Survey (TTS) (N = 1,216) to discuss youth responses to questions about their experience with sexual health education and the relevance of this information for school-based sexual health education (SBSE). Considering that TTS youth identified schools as their primary source of sexual health education, the survey findings have value for SBSE. In discussing the TTS data in the context of the updated Ontario sexual health curriculum, we provide a youth perspective on the revised sexual health education program that was implemented in the fall of 2015

Increasing Accessibility for Community Participants at Academic Conferences

Background: To decrease the gulf between academic and community perspectives, there has been an increased call among stakeholder groups to collaborate in solving complex urban health problems. Despite these recent shifts, however, community partners face barriers to participate in conferences, ultimately limiting exchange of ideas and uptake of research data. This paper reports on the evaluation of the strategy used to engage community participants at the 4th International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH) held in Toronto, Canada, in October, 2005. Method: We surveyed participants (n = 98) and conducted follow-up interviews (n = 23) to assess factors that facilitated attendance at ICUH 2005 as well as the impact of the conference on their work. Results: Community registrants were drawn by accessible fee structures, scholarship opportunities, and preconference workshops relevant to their interests. Both community and academic registrants were drawn by the presence of a separate conference stream showcasing high-quality and rigorous community-based participatory research (CBPR). The conference provided valuable opportunities for networking with other community-based researchers by facilitating the development of relationships between community registrants and researchers, increased the profile and legitimacy of CBPR, and reinforced the value of community input in research. It also provided opportunities for capacity building—knowledge sharing and heightened awareness of CBPR. Conclusion: The 4th ICUH had a significant impact on community registrants and provided valuable opportunities to bridge academic and community divides. These data support the need for comprehensive strategies for community engagement at health conferences