New Developments in the Field: Measuring Community Climate

Oswald, Ramona Faith; Cuthbertson, Courtney; Lazarevic, Vanja; Goldberg, Abbie E.

doi:10.1080/15504281003709230

Cited by 62 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…A value of 2.0 for the social-environment variable means that the value for that county is 2 SDs above the overall mean (ie, is more supportive of gays and lesbians). Previous research using a similar measure of LGB climate found a strong correlation (r ϭ 0.35, P Ͻ .001) with LGB adults' perceptions of how supportive their communities were, 25 providing support for the validity of our measure.…”

Section: Independent Variablesupporting

confidence: 61%

“…Drawing on recent research on LGB community climate, 25 we created an index of the social environment surrounding LGB youth, which was composed of 5 different items (described in more detail below): (1) proportion of same-sex couples living in the counties; (2) proportion of Democrats living in the counties; (3) proportion of schools with gay-straight alliances; (4) proportion of schools with antibullying policies specifically protecting LGB students; and (5) proportion of schools with antidiscrimination policies that included sexual orientation. Each of the 34 Oregon counties that were included in the 2006 -2008 OHT surveys received a value for these 5 items.…”

Section: Independent Variablementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

2011

PEDIATRICS

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth attempt suicide at significantly higher rates than heterosexuals. The social environment may contribute to this elevated risk, but few empirical studies have used objective measures of the social environment to examine this hypothesis. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:This study demonstrated that negative characteristics of the social environment increase risk for suicide attempts among LGB youth, independent of individuallevel risk factors. These results suggest that identifying structural interventions may help to reduce sexual orientationrelated disparities in suicide attempts. abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the social environment surrounding lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth may contribute to their higher rates of suicide attempts, controlling for individual-level risk factors. METHODS:A total of 31 852 11th grade students (1413 [4.4%] lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals) in Oregon completed the Oregon Healthy Teens survey in 2006 -2008. We created a composite index of the social environment in 34 counties, including (1) the proportion of same-sex couples, (2) the proportion of registered Democrats, (3) the presence of gay-straight alliances in schools, and (4) school policies (nondiscrimination and antibullying) that specifically protected lesbian, gay, and bisexual students. RESULTS:Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were significantly more likely to attempt suicide in the previous 12 months, compared with heterosexuals (21.5% vs 4.2%). Among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, the risk of attempting suicide was 20% greater in unsupportive environments compared to supportive environments. A more supportive social environment was significantly associated with fewer suicide attempts, controlling for sociodemographic variables and multiple risk factors for suicide attempts, including depressive symptoms, binge drinking, peer victimization, and physical abuse by an adult (odds ratio: 0.97 [95% confidence interval: 0.96 -0.99]). CONCLUSIONS:This study documents an association between an objective measure of the social environment and suicide attempts among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. The social environment appears to confer risk for suicide attempts over and above individual-level risk factors. These results have important implications for the development of policies and interventions to reduce sexual orientation-related disparities in suicide attempts.

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Section: Independent Variablesupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Independent Variablementioning

confidence: 99%

The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

2011

PEDIATRICS

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“…Challenges emanate from both specific negative encounters with others (Meyer, 2003) and from negative community climates (Oswald, Cuthbertson, Lazarevic, & Goldberg, 2010).…”

Section: Challenges Faced By Families With Lesbian Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stressful interaction is often compounded by negative community climates, measured by a community's religious and political affiliations, legal rights, workplace opportunities and policies, and the presence (or absence) of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) community members and services (Oswald et al, 2010). Community climates vary, ranging from hostile to tolerant to supportive.…”

Section: The Origin Of Challenges For Families With Lesbian Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Negative social climates often lead lesbian mothers to experience an associated form of stress-internalized heterosexism (Meyer, 2003). Negative external events and experiences become expected, creating in mothers an unwelcome experience of vigilance (Meyer, 2003), leaving individuals constantly on guard because of a perceived ever-present possibility of discrimination (Contrada et al, 2000;Meyer, 2003;Oswald et al, 2010). In sum, the challenges lesbian mothers face across relational contexts result in a number of negative consequences for families with female coparents.…”

Section: Lesbian Mothers' Accounts 477mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accounting for Lesbian-Headed Families: Lesbian Mothers' Responses to Discursive Challenges

Kellas¹,

Suter

2012

Communication Monographs

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Community-Level Determinants of Tobacco Use Disparities in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

Hatzenbuehler¹,

Wieringa²,

Keyes³

2011

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

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Objective:To determine whether characteristics of the social environment surrounding lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth contribute to their rates of tobacco use after controlling for established community-level risk factors.Design: Cross-sectional.Setting: Population-based study of youth.Participants: A total of 31 852 eleventh-grade students (1413 LGB individuals [4.44%]) in Oregon completed the Oregon Healthy Teens survey in 2006-2008. Main Exposures:We created a composite index of the social environment in 34 Oregon counties. This measure included the proportion of same-sex couples, the presence of gay-straight alliances in schools, and school policies (nondiscrimination and antibullying) that specifically protected LGB students.Main Outcome Measures: Any tobacco use in the past 30 days.Results: A more supportive social environment for LGB youth was significantly associated with reduced tobacco use (odds ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.90-0.94). This effect remained robust after controlling for sociodemographic variables and multiple communitylevel risk factors for tobacco use, including median countylevel income, exposure to cigarette advertisements, exposure to teacher and peer smoking in schools, and school smoking rules. Conclusion:This study documents an association between an objective measure of the social environment and sexual orientation-related disparities in tobacco use. These results highlight the need for structural-level interventions that reduce smoking behaviors in LGB youth.

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New Developments in the Field: Measuring Community Climate

Cited by 62 publications

References 37 publications

The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

Accounting for Lesbian-Headed Families: Lesbian Mothers' Responses to Discursive Challenges

Community-Level Determinants of Tobacco Use Disparities in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

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