Gay‐Straight Alliances or Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) are school clubs that address LGBTQ issues. Although little is known about potential benefits of participation in GSAs, there is some evidence that they may generally benefit LGBTQ student well‐being and academic achievement. However, some literature suggests GSAs may not meet the needs of LGBTQ students of color. The current study explores whether GSA participation is related to psychosocial well‐being, whether GSA participation moderates the relationship between victimization based on sexual orientation and well‐being, and whether these relationships differ by race/ethnicity. The sample included 11,164 LGBTQ secondary school students who have a GSA at their school, and who reported on GSA participation, verbal harassment based on sexual orientation, and psychosocial indicators (depression, self‐esteem, and school belonging). Participation in GSAs was related to greater school belonging, but was not related to self‐esteem and depression. The associations between GSA participation and verbal harassment based on sexual orientation on psychosocial well‐being did not differ by race/ethnicity. The findings provide an important first step in re‐thinking and re‐examining how GSA participation may be helpful for LGBTQ students. Implications for school policy and practices are discussed.
Background: Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) students commonly experience identity-based harassment, which is associated with poorer mental health, and TNB students of color may experience harassment targeting gender, race/ethnicity, and other identities. Applying an intersectional lens to minority stress theory suggests that different forms of identity-based harassment that target different identities are interconnected. However, few studies address intersecting forms of bias experienced by TNB students of color. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the interplay of racism and transphobia among TNB students by comparing experiences of racist and transphobic harassment across seven racial/ethnic groups and examining the effects of these forms of identity-based harassment on the mental health of TNB students of color. Participants: Participants were drawn from a large national sample of LGBTQ students who were enrolled in secondary school during the 2018-2019 school year. The study sample consists of all those who were TNB (N = 6,795). The majority of the sample identified as transgender (68.7%), and just under a third identified as nonbinary, but not as transgender (31.3%). The majority were White (71.3%), and approximately a third identified as gay or lesbian (33.7%).Research Design: This quantitative study employed a multivariate analysis of covariance to examine differences in frequency of racist and transphobic harassment across racial/ethnic groups. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine the main effects of harassment, as well as interaction effects between these forms of harassment, on depression and self-esteem among TNB students of color.
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