Gay-Straight Allianc, Inclive Policy, and School Climate: LGBTQ Youths' Experienc of Social Support and Bullyg - PubMed

Contents:

• CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHOOLS WH AND WHOUT GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC, INCLIVE POLICY, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE: LGBTQ YOUTHS' EXPERIENC OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BULLYG
• GAY-STRAIGHT/GENRS & SEXUALI ALLIANC
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC, INCLIVE POLICY, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE: LGBTQ YOUTHS’ EXPERIENC OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BULLYG
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC SCHOOLS PROMOTE INCLIVY, ACCEPTANCE
• HOW TO START A GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE (GSA)
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC
• GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC PUBLIC SCHOOLS: AGENTS OF EARLY ADOLCENT ALIENATN
• REGNIZE THE GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE AS AN OFFICIAL CLUBREGNIZE THE GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE AS AN OFFICIAL CLUB

CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHOOLS WH AND WHOUT GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC

Published fal eded form as:PMCID: PMC7821966NIHMSID: NIHMS1512463AbstractRearch shows that Gay-Straight Allianc (GSAs) are associated wh school climate and stunt well-beg, but is unclear what school characteristics may acunt for some of the fdgs. Keywords: Gay-Straight Alliance, GSA, LGBTQ, high school, adolcentsLbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer or qutng (LGBTQ) youth often face harassment school (Kosciw, Greytak, Giga, Villenas, & Danischewski, 2016; Rsell & Fish, 2016). In rponse to negative school experienc, Gay-Straight Alliance clubs (GSAs), or Genrs and Sexuali Allianc, create safe spac for youth to exprs their sexual and genr inti, as well as provi social support and opportuni to advote for their peers (Rsell, Mura, Subramaniam, & Lb, 2009).

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC, INCLIVE POLICY, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE: LGBTQ YOUTHS' EXPERIENC OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BULLYG

A meta-analysis of 15 studi shows that stunts schools wh GSAs report feelg safer, hearg fewer homophobic remarks, and experiencg ls homophobic victimizatn (Marx & Kettrey, 2016). Schools wh GSAs and Stunt WellbegOverall, fdgs show that youth schools wh GSAs are ls likely to feel unsafe, hear homophobic remarks, or experience homophobic victimizatn (Ioverno, Belser, Bac, Grossman, & Rsell, 2016; Marx & Kettrey, 2016). Their fdgs show that LGBQ stunts schools wh GSAs the prr year felt safer and reported ls homophobic bullyg the followg school year (Ioverno et al., 2016).

MethodData on school characteristics and prence of GSAs 2015 were merged at the school level for public high schools California om three sourc: The CDE, NCES, and the Genrs and Sexuali Alliance Network, formerly known as Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

GAY-STRAIGHT/GENRS & SEXUALI ALLIANC

Gay-Straight Allianc (GSA) and school polici foced on support for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer/qutng youth may rce bias-based bullyg and enhance social supports schools. Gay-Straight Allianc or Genrs and Sexuali Allianc have been associated wh improvements school safety, a key ponent of school nnectedns, for all stunts. Rearch specifilly lks the prence of Gay-Straight Allianc or Genrs and Sexuali Allianc (GSAs) to greater feelgs of school nnectedns among Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Qutng (LGBTQ) stunts.

12487PMCID: PMC8063225NIHMSID: NIHMS1691425AbstractGay-Straight Allianc (GSA) and school polici foced on support for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer/qutng youth may rce bias-based bullyg and enhance social supports schools. School ntext be even more important when we nsir the health and well-beg of LGBTQ youth, as they are more likely to experience school-based harassment, victimizatn, and bullyg than their cisgenr and heterosexual peers (Day, Perez-Bmer, & Rsell, 2018; Toomey & Rsell, 2016) programs such as Gay-Straight Allianc (GSAs; also known as Genr and Sexualy Allianc) and school polici foced on support for LGBTQ stunts (LGBTQ-foced polici) have also been intified as effective means for improvg school climat, pecially for LGBTQ youth (Chir-Teran & Hugh, 2009; Fetner & Elaos, 2015; Goonow et al., 2006; Heck, Flentje, & Cochran, 2013; Kosciw, Greytak, Giga, Villenas, & Danischewski, 2016; Marx & Kettrey, 2016; McGuire, Anrson, Toomey, & Rsell, 2010).

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC, INCLIVE POLICY, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE: LGBTQ YOUTHS’ EXPERIENC OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BULLYG

Prev studi of sexual and genr mory youth school ntexts have often bed sampl of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr youth; this is also among the first studi on measur of school climate related to social support and bullyg to clu genr inty pennt of sexual inty. Regnizg this, the review below variatns of the acronym LGBTQ (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer/qutng) to accurately scribe the sample characteristics of prr Bullyg SchoolsAll forms of bullyg are ncerng, yet youth who experience bias-based bullyg based on their perceived or actual sexual or genr inty have poorer mental health, greater substance e, and higher tancy pared to youth who experience general forms of bullyg (Birkett, Espelage, & Koenig, 2009; Bontempo & D’Augelli, 2002; Rivers & D’Augelli, 2001; Rsell et al., 2012). In one natnal survey of LGBTQ youth, 67% reported equently hearg homophobic ments at school, 58% felt unsafe bee of their sexual orientatn, and 43% felt unsafe bee of their genr exprsn (Kosciw et al., 2016).

Addnally, only 12% of the youth reported that teachers tervened most or all of the time when they heard homophobic remarks; yet schools wh GSAs, 20% of youth reported teacher terventn rponse to homophobic statements (Kosciw et al., 2016). The lack of social supports and higher risks of victimizatn of LGBTQ youth schools unrsr the importance of intifyg programs and polici that improve school climate and experienc for LGBTQ and LGBTQ-Foced Polici SchoolsGay-Straight Allianc may serve a particularly valuable support functn wh schools. School personnel schools wh a GSA are more likely to tervene when they hear homophobic remarks than those schools whout GSAs (Kosciw et al., 2016), and LGBTQ youth report greater school nnectedns and lower negative mental health out when attendg schools wh GSAs (Heck et al., 2013).

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC SCHOOLS PROMOTE INCLIVY, ACCEPTANCE

The recent change name om the “Gay-Straight Alliance Network” to the more clive “Genrs and Sexuali Alliance” work enurag nsiratn for how the programs may provi differential support for LGB and transgenr youth (GSA Network, 2016) school polici also play a val role strengtheng social supports schools for LGBTQ youth. Addnally, 47% intified as gay or lbian, 43% as bisexual, and 10% as qutng or other, and a majory of the participants (67%) reported disclosg their sexual or genr inty to eher classmat or teachers. More than half of the participants dited they received ee or rced lunch (59%), which was ed as a proxy for socenomic 1Frequenci, Means, and Standard Deviatns for Sample Demographics and Oute VariablPercent/Mean (SD)nSexual orientatn1, 061 Gay/Lbian47.

Bias-based bullyg was asssed through two ems based on the qutn, “Durg the past 12 months, how many tim on school property were you harassed or bullied for any of the followg reasons”: “Bee you are gay, lbian, or bisexual or someone thought you were” (homophobic bullyg) and “Bee of your sex or genr” (genr-based bullyg) (0 = never; 4 = more than once a day) (r =. Mols were adjted for: sexual inty (1 = bisexual; 2 = qutng; gay/lbian was the reference tegory); assigned sex at birth (0 = female; 1 = male); genr inty (0 = cisgenr; 1 = transgenr); race (cludg Asian, Pacific Islanr, or Native Amerin; Black or Ain Amerin; multiple rac; and unreported, wh Whe as the reference tegory); ethnicy (0 = non-Hispanic; 1 = Hispanic); age; receipt of ee or rced school lunch (0 = no; 1 = y); fally, we created a dichotomo measure of beg out to school classmat and/or teachers based on youths’ rpons to the qutn, “who knows about your sexual inty/genr inty: classmate(s)? Rults for each oute are reported Tabl 2 and ​ 2Summary of Ordal Logistic Regrsn Analys Predictg Homophobic and Genr-Based Bullyg (n = 1, 061)Homophobic BullygGenr-Based BullygOR95% CIOR95% CIGSA/LGBTQ-foced polici GSA only1.

Addnally, youth schools wh a GSA, but who were unsure if the school had LGBTQ-foced polici, were ls likely to experience equent homophobic bullyg (AOR = 0. Compared to lbian or gay youth, bisexual youth had lower odds of experiencg homophobic bullyg; and pared to cisgenr youth, transgenr youth had two tim greater odds of experiencg homophobic and genr-based bullyg.

HOW TO START A GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE (GSA)

Addnally, youth who dited their assigned sex at birth as male were almost twice as likely to experience homophobic bullyg pared to those who were assigned female at birth. Neher GSAs nor LGBTQ-foced polici were associated wh homophobic or genr-based bullyg among youth still high youth who had graduated high school, neher GSAs nor LGBTQ-foced polici were associated wh perceptns of classmate or teacher support, though the batn of GSAs and LGBTQ-foced polici was signifint at the trend level for perceived classmate support (b = 0. Although prev rearch has documented how GSAs (Chir-Teran & Hugh, 2009; Goonow et al., 2006; Heck et al., 2013; Marx & Kettrey, 2016) and LGBTQ-foced polici (O’Shghnsy et al., 2004; Poteat & Rsell, 2013) penntly improve school climat, our fdgs suggt that the batn of LGBTQ-foced programs and polici are pecially effective mechanisms for addrsg bias-based also found that LGBTQ-foced polici may be particularly effective for addrsg homophobic bullyg, and GSAs for genr-based bullyg.

This suggts that, although transgenr youth were more likely to have more negative school experienc, the relatnship between GSAs, LGBTQ-foced polici, and homophobic bullyg and perceptns of social support was no stronger or weaker for transgenr youth pared to cisgenr fdgs also highlight a potentially important rilience factor for Black or Ain Amerin youth, sce they reported notably higher levels of classmate support. The batn of GSAs and polici were associated wh perceptns of stronger classmate and teacher support for high school stunts, and ls homophobic and genr-based bullyg for those who had graduated high school. Other work shows that the prence of a GSA schools is associated wh fewer reports of homophobic bullyg one year later (Ioverno, Belser, Bac, Grossman, & Rsell, 2016), but we are aware of no other longudal studi that tt the mechanisms.

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC

Genr and Sexualy Allianc or Gay-Straight Allianc (GSAs) are stunt-anized clubs that aim to create a safe and welg school environment for all youth regardls of sexual orientatn or genr inty. 2009: A Yulee, FL school rejected stunts’ applitn for a GSA, objectg to the word “gay” “Gay-Straight Alliance” as well as an unrelated past cint volvg one of the club members before she was at the high school. 2011: A brother and sister sued their upstate NY high school for nyg their requt to start a GSA and refg to act on their reports of anti-gay harassment.

A Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), Genrs and Sexuali Alliance (GSA), Queer-Straight Alliance (QSA), Sexualy and Genr Acceptance (SAGA), Queer Intersectnal Alliance (QIA), Rabow, or Pri Club is a stunt-n club, typilly a high school or middle school, which provis a safe place for stunts to meet, support each other, talk about issu related to sexual orientatn, and work to end homophobia and transphobia.

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANC PUBLIC SCHOOLS: AGENTS OF EARLY ADOLCENT ALIENATN

And wh one of their most recent projects, the gay-straight alliance (GSA), STEP is gettg their msage across to LGBTQ Cano, STEP member and muny mobilizatn ordator for Valley AIDS Council, helped lnch the ia. Gay-Straight Allianc, or GSAs, are stunt-led and stunt-anized school clubs that aim to create a safe, welg, and acceptg school environment for all youth, regardls of sexual orientatn or genr inty.

REGNIZE THE GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE AS AN OFFICIAL CLUBREGNIZE THE GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE AS AN OFFICIAL CLUB

GSAs provi a supportive environment for lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) stunts, as well as those who are perceived by others to be LGBT, are qutng their inty, have LGBT iends or fay members, or jt re about LGBT issu. Rearch has shown that LGBT stunts hear fewer homophobic slurs, experience ls harassment, have better attendance, and feel safer at schools that have GSAs. Department of Edutn “Dear Colleague Letter” on gay-straight alliance clubs and the Equal Accs Act: An open letter signed by the Assistant Secretary of Civil Rights of the U.

“Gay-Straight Allianc: Ground Zero for School Tolerance”: An article wrten for teachers by teachers om Edutn World magaze, explag why GSA’s should be allowed at schools. Your rights to ee speech and associatn clu formg a gay-straight alliance at your a feral law lled the Equal Accs Act (EAA), sendary schools that receive feral fundg and allow meetgs of other non-curricular stunt clubs (clubs that don’t directly relate to class at your school) are prohibed om discrimatg agast any stunt group based on s sendary schools are vered by the Equal Accs Act if they allow even one non-curricular club to meet at the school.

Yet, for the past 20 years, many high schools across 27 stat have created and tablished Gay-Straight Allianc (GSAs) whose primary missns are “to empower youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia schools” (GSA Network, 2010). Sce GSAs reprent one of the only attempts to addrs homophobia public schools, they provi the only micro-level mol that might be ed to rm future policy. For a simple example, one need only look to the popular media, where a very specific stereotype of the “gay man” (Csian, tall, slenr, well-ted) and “lbian woman” (generally, a antly femist woman) are reified and perpetuated.