Interpersonal protective factors for LGBTQ+ youth at multiple intersecting social identities and positions

Authors

Marla E. Eisenberg, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota. 717 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA.
Amy L. Gower, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota. 717 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA.
Ana María Del Río-González, Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire AVE NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA.
G Nic Rider, Institute for Sexual and Gender Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, 1300 S 2 St., Ste 180, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA.
Lisa Bowleg, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, 2125 G St NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA.
Stephen T. Russell, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas, 108 Dean Keeton St, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

3-1-2024

Journal

Annals of LGBTQ public and population health

Volume

5

Issue

1

DOI

10.1891/lgbtq-2022-0027

Keywords

CHAID; LGBTQ+; adolescents; intersectionality; protective factors; social support

Abstract

Interpersonal supports are protective against multiple negative health outcomes for youth such as emotional distress and substance use. However, finding interpersonal support may be difficult for youth exposed to intersecting racism, heterosexism, and cisgenderism, who may feel they are "outsiders within" their multiple communities. This study explores disparities in interpersonal supports for youth at different sociodemographic intersections. The 2019 Minnesota Student Survey includes data from 80,456 high school students, including measures of four interpersonal supports: feeling cared about by parents, other adult relatives, friends, and community adults. Exhaustive Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection analysis was used to examine all interactions among four social identities/positions (racialized/ethnic identity, sexual identity, gender identity, sex assigned at birth) to identify groups who report different rates of caring from each source (Bonferroni adjusted p<.05). In the overall sample, 69.24% perceived the highest level of caring ("very much") from parents, 50.09% from other adult relatives, 39.94% from friends, and 15.03% from community adults. Models identified considerable differences in each source of support. For example, more than 72% of straight, cisgender youth reported their parents cared about them very much, but youth who identified as LGBQ and TGD or gender-questioning were much less likely to report high parent caring (less than 36%) across multiple racialized/ethnic identities and regardless of sex assigned at birth. Findings highlight the importance of better understanding the ways interpersonal support might differ across groups, and underscore a need for intersectionality-tailored interventions to develop protective interpersonal supports for LGBTQ+ youth, rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.

APA Citation

Eisenberg, Marla E.; Gower, Amy L.; Del Río-González, Ana María; Rider, G Nic; Bowleg, Lisa; and Russell, Stephen T., "Interpersonal protective factors for LGBTQ+ youth at multiple intersecting social identities and positions" (2024). GW Authored Works. Paper 4567.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/4567

Department

Prevention and Community Health