Protective Factors of Homophobic Name-Calling and Sexual Violence Perpetration and Victimization Among LGB, Trans, and Heterosexual High School Students

Abstract

Homophobic name-calling and sexual violence are prevalent among US high school students and have been associated with a host of negative consequences including anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders, especially among sexual and gender minority youth. Although homophobic name-calling and sexual violence are linked to common risk and protective factors, most prior studies have failed to include gender and sexual minority groups. The present study used path analyses to explore the associations between eight protective factors and the outcomes of homophobic name-calling perpetration, homophobic name-calling victimization, sexual violence perpetration, and sexual violence victimization. The sample included LGB (n = 938), transgender (n = 140), and heterosexual (n = 3,744) high school students in Colorado, USA (N = 4,822). Protective factors included: (1) family support; (2) peer support; (3) friendships with trusted adults; (4) participating in healthy activities;(5) helping others; (6) spirituality; (7) access to counseling; and (8) access to medical services. For homophobic name-calling perpetration and victimization, significant negative associations emerged across different groups for the protective factors of family support, peer support, helping others, spirituality, counseling, and medical access. For sexual violence perpetration and victimization, significant negative associations emerged across different groups for the protective factors family support, peer support, and counseling access. Findings suggest that prevention and intervention efforts to address gender-based harassment should focus on building protective, supportive environments across the schools, families, and communities.

Latent Class Analysis of Victimization Patterns and Associated Protective Factors among LGBTQ Youth

“…Medical and counseling access were protective factors significantly associated with a lower likelihood of belonging to the class with moderate victimization experiences (Class 2), and counseling access was related to a lower likelihood of belonging to the class with high victimization across all outcomes (Class 3). These findings support previous findings that have shown associations between counseling and medical access as a shared protective factor for multiple forms of violence, particularly among LGBTQ youth [ 9 , 26 , 44 , 45 ]. Counseling and medical access could be protective by offering youth mental and physical health resources to cope with experiences of violence at school.…”

“…In agreement with our hypotheses, several protective factors were associated with a lower likelihood of belonging to the medium (Class 2) or high-risk class (Class 3) compared to the lowest risk class (Class 1). Consistent with previous literature, medical access, counseling access, family support, peer support, and spirituality emerged as significant protective factors associated with a lower risk of victimization [ 9 , 13 , 26 ]. Additionally, we found significant associations between a student’s gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and the likelihood of belonging to a high-risk class.…”

“…First, HNCV is a form of verbal harassment rooted in discrimination toward LGBTQ individuals and prejudice toward those who do not conform to normative standards of gender expression [ 6 , 7 ]. Thus, HNCV accounts for derogatory epithets often directed toward LGBTQ individuals, but not exclusively, as heterosexual youth also report experiencing HNCV [ 8 , 9 ]. Particularly for boys, using homophobic epithets may be a means of asserting one’s masculinity among peers by calling out others for not conforming to hegemonic standards of masculinity [ 10 ].…”

“…Across gender and sexual identities, HNCV has been associated with adverse outcomes for overall wellbeing, including psychological distress, higher rates of substance use and depressive symptoms, and lowered self-esteem [ 8 , 12 ]. Protective factors of HNCV include increased social-emotional competencies, family and peer support, and positive school climates for LGBTQ students [ 9 , 13 ]. However, much of the existing research focuses on risk factors for experiencing victimization, so further studies are needed to confirm the most effective ways to intervene and prevent this type of victimization.…”

“…For example, at the individual level, spirituality has been shown to be protective of adverse outcomes [ 26 , 27 ]. Previous research has shown family and school-level factors like support from trusted adults, peer groups, and family members to be protective factors for youth across sexual and gender identities [ 9 , 13 , 26 , 27 ]. At the community level, we included access to medical and counseling services to explore whether these types of support may be protective against multiple forms of victimization, both of which have been supported by prior research [ 9 ].…”