Conditional Families and Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Transgender, and Queer Youth Homelessness: Gender,Sexuality, Family Instability,and Rejection

Existing research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth homelessness identifies family rejection as a main pathway into homelessness for the youth. This finding, however, can depict people of color or poor people as more prejudiced than White, middle‐class families. In this 18‐month ethnographic study, the author complicates this rejection paradigm through documenting the narratives of 40 LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. The author examines how poverty and family instability shaped the conditions that the youth perceived as their being rejected because of their gender and sexuality. This rejection generated strained familial ties within families wherein the ties were already fragile. Likewise, the author shows how being gender expansive marked many youth's experiences of familial abuse and strain. This study proposes the concept of conditional families to capture the social processes of how poverty and family instability shape experiences of gender, sexuality, and rejection for some LGBTQ youth.     

Partner Violence Victimization Among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Transgender, and Queer Youth: Associations Among Risk Factors

Literature shows that youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) experience high rates of victimization across various contexts, though there is little research specific to partner violence victimization. Given the deleterious effects of partner violence seen in both youth generally and LGBTQ adults, it is imperative to investigate partner violence among LGBTQ youth. The authors investigated the prevalence of partner violence among a community sample of LGBTQ youth (N = 140) and examined potential correlates of said violence. Approximately half of the participants had ever experienced some form of partner violence. Rates of ever experiencing partner violence were approximately 2.5 times higher for youth who had binge drank in the past month or ever experienced familial abuse and nearly three times higher for youth who had experienced an episode of homelessness in the past year. Implications for professionals who serve LGBTQ youth are discussed.     

The experiences of adolescents and young adults residing with their families in emergency shelters in Canada

Emergency homeless shelters can be stressful environments for families. They can be associated with emotional distress and feelings of restriction for parents, and with behavioural, social, and developmental challenges for children. However, little is known about the experiences of accompanied youth residing in shelter with their families, as the literature about this age group's experiences of homelessness has mainly focused on unaccompanied youth. Findings from the current study are drawn from qualitative interviews with 16 adolescents and young adults (aged 16–21) who were homeless and living with their families in family homeless shelters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Youth described family homeless shelters as stressful environments but also found that the shelters provided support to them and their families. Youth discussed the various strategies they used to cope in facing the challenges of shelter life. These findings add to our understanding of youth who are homeless and highlight the ways in which they adapt to the challenges of living in a family homeless shelter with their families. Recommendations are included for ways that shelter staff and policymakers can enact operational and systemic changes that could potentially improve the experiences of such youth and their families.     

Interdisciplinary Collaboration for LGBTQ Students in Foster Care: Strategies for School Counselors

abstract

Unsafe and ill-prepared school environments exist for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students in foster care. School counselors are uniquely positioned to develop safe and inclusive schools for this vulnerable student population; however, strategies for interdisciplinary collaboration and advocacy with schools, families, and systems incorporated with LGBTQ youth in foster care are limited. This article explores how school counselors can advocate across disciplines for LGBTQ youth in foster care, including K-12 education systems, family/caregivers, and social service organizations providers.     

Barriers and facilitators to shelter utilization among homeless young adults

Rates of shelter use among homeless youth are low compared to use of other supportive services, yet research on barriers to shelter use has been conducted in limited regions, specifically in West Coast or Midwest cities. Additionally, while studies have generally focused on barriers to shelter use, studies on what might facilitate shelter use are lacking. This study explores barriers and facilitators to shelter use among homeless young adults from a large city in the Southwest region. Focus groups were conducted with a diverse sample of 49 homeless young adults ages 18–24. Drawing on models of health service use, findings were categorized into two domains – attitudinal and access. Themes related to attitudinal barriers include stigma/shame and self-reliance/pride. Attitudinal facilitators include the desire to extricate themselves from street life and turn their lives in a new direction. Access-related themes include barriers such as a lack of shelters and services available to meet the needs of youth, adverse shelter conditions, staff attitudes that are not acceptable to youth, restrictive shelter rules, restrictive definitions of homelessness, and a desire to differentiate themselves from older homeless individuals. Certain characteristics or circumstances (e.g., being pregnant), having supportive others, and shelters’ ability to connect them to other services emerged as access facilitators to shelter use. Implications for policymakers, service providers, and future research are discussed.     

A Glimpse Within: An Exploratory Study of Child Welfare Agencies’ Practices With LGBTQ Youth

This article presents findings from a national survey of agency members of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) with respect to organizational culture and service delivery for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Sixty-seven study participants provided quantitative and qualitative data via an Internet questionnaire. Overall, agencies fall short of fully subscribing to recommendations made by the CWLA. They could improve their support for providing an inclusive environment, creating supportive policies, and selecting childcare providers regardless of sexual orientation/gender identity. In addition, agencies varied with respect to the relative emphasis that services geared specifically for LGBTQ should occur. Although some progress has been made, much work remains for child welfare agencies to fully address the needs of LGBTQ youth.     

Exploring the Experiences of Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Questioning Adolescents in Foster Care

This article is based on the findings from a subset of gender identity and sexual orientation questions from The Casey Field Office Mental Health Study (CFOMH). It aims to contribute the experiences of youth in the care of Casey Family Programs to the increasing body of research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) youth in foster care, as well as inform future studies in this area. The CFOMH study interviewed 188 adolescents ages 14 to 17 who were receiving foster care services from Casey Family Programs in 2006. The experiences in care of youth who identified as LGBQ (n = 10) are presented in narrative form, along with data from all youth in care (N = 188) regarding their perceptions of the foster care environment for LGBTQ youth. These findings are intended to underscore the need to conduct a larger, more in-depth study of the experiences of LGBTQ youth in foster care and the environment that foster care provides for them.     

Heterogenous associations between Gender-Sexuality Alliances and LGBTQ adolescents' maladjustment across individual victimization level

Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs), which are student-initiated school clubs for LGBTQ youth and allies, can reduce victimization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. This preregistered study identified heterogeneous correlates of GSAs, based on data from an anonymous survey of LGBTQ adolescents aged 13–17 years living in the United States (N = 10,588). In line with the healthy context paradox (Pan et al. [Child Development, 92, 2021, and 1836]), the presence of a GSA exacerbated associations between LGBTQ-based victimization and depressive symptoms, lower self-esteem, and lower academic grades—particularly in transgender youth. Inclusive settings, such as GSAs, might prevent increasing disparities by including tailored strategies to monitor and support more vulnerable, victimized LGBTQ youth.     

Promoting Empowerment Among LGBTQ Youth: A Social Justice Youth Development Approach

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified (LGBTQ) youth are a population with a unique set of service needs. Existing research on effective service methods with LGBTQ youth is limited. Youth empowerment holds potential as an approach that can impact well-being among youth who face discrimination. The current study explores the relationship between the social justice youth development framework (Ginwright and James, New Directions Youth Dev 96:27–46, 2002) and youth empowerment in a sample of LGBTQ youth. Multiple regression analysis of data collected through a community-based youth program identified critical consciousness and community engagement as significant predictors of empowerment. Findings suggest that programs that promote these factors among LGBTQ youth using the social justice youth development framework may enhance empowerment thereby increasing other aspects of well-being.     

Paving Pathways Through the Pain: A Grounded Theory of Resilience Among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Trans, and Queer Youth

This grounded theory study utilized interviews with 16 service providers and 19 lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) youth to develop a substantive theory of resilience processes among LGBTQ youth. The core category, paving pathways through the pain, suggests that LGBTQ youth build on emotional pain inflicted by external adversities to carve out pathways to resilience. Youth employed the following resilience processes: (1) navigating safety across contexts, (2) asserting personal agency, (3) seeking and cultivating meaningful relationships, (4) un‐silencing marginalized identities, and (5) engaging in collective healing and action. Youth focused on particularly painful adversities and engaged intentionally in one or more of the resilience processes related to the origins of their pain.     

Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Transgender, Queer,and Questioning Youths' Perspectives of Inclusive School-Based Sexuality Education

Sexuality education is perceived as one way to prevent unhealthy sexual behaviors. However, current sexuality education materials are not tailored to fit the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth, and many have been critiqued for disenfranchising these populations. This study solicited the perspectives of LGBTQ youth on their experiences with school-based sexuality education in order to create a framework of LGBTQ-inclusive sexuality education. Five semistructured focus groups (N = 30 LGBTQ participants) were conducted to investigate the sexuality education experiences of LGBTQ youth and to solicit youth suggestions for improving the inclusiveness of sexuality education curricula. Results indicate that LGBTQ youth perceive current sexuality education as primarily “exclusive,” although examples of “inclusive” sexuality education were provided. In addition, participants provided suggestions for creating a more inclusive experience, such as directly discussing LGBTQ issues, emphasizing sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention over pregnancy prevention, and addressing healthy relationships. Educators and policymakers can use these ideas to help improve the quality of sexuality education—not only to make it more inclusive for LGBTQ youth but to make sexuality education more inclusive for all young people.     

Putting the pieces together for queer youth: a model of integrated assessment of need and program planning

Needs assessments require staff with the necessary expertise to design the study, collect the data, analyze the data, and present results. They require money, time, and persistence, because the people one wishes to assess often are difficult to access. This article argues for the centrality of a well-done needs assessment when developing services for LGBTQ youth. Needs assessment methodology and adjunctive uses of the needs assessment data also are discussed. The authors present a needs assessment of LGBTQ youth living in out-of-home care in San Diego, California, as an example of the purpose, practicality, and power of a comprehensive needs assessment. The needs assessment identified several issues, as well as additional data supporting the project's necessity. The data also identified the most significant obstacles youth face in accessing housing and supportive services. Through the data collection process, non-LGBT housing providers better understood their need for additional training, and housing and city leadership communities obtained and spread knowledge of the project.     

Achieving permanency for LGBTQ youth

This article brings together two significant efforts in the child welfare field: achieving permanence for youth in out-of-home care and meeting the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. During the past several years, a national movement has taken place to assure all children and youth have a permanent family connection before leaving the child welfare system; however, LGBTQ youth are not routinely included in the permanency discussions. At the same time, efforts in addressing the needs of LGBTQ youth have increased, but permanency is rarely mentioned as a need. This article offers models of permanence and practices to facilitate permanence with LGBTQ youth and their families. It also offers a youth-driven, individualized process, using youth development principles to achieve relational, physical, and legal permanence. Reunification efforts are discussed, including services, supports, and education required for youth to return to their family of origin. For those who cannot return home, other family resources are explored. The article also discusses cultural issues as they affect permanence for LGBTQ youth, and, finally, addresses the need for ongoing support services to sustain and support permanency.     

Proposing an Initiative Research Methodology for LGBTQ+ Youth: Photo-Elicitation and Thematic Analysis

ABSTRACT

A framework for approaching lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+ (LGBTQ+) youth is presented that honors their voice. This methodology utilizes participant-driven photo elicitation as a qualitative data collection method, and then integrates thematic analysis. A brief review of current literature is provided to outline gaps, which establish the need to expand effective research methods with LGBTQ+ youth. Photo elicitation is explained with discussion specific to use with LGBTQ+ youth. Thematic analysis is identified and explained as an analytic approach. Challenges of implementing this methodology are discussed with attention to ethical concerns.     

Feminist and queer criminology: A vital place for theorizing LGBTQ youth

Creating safe environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and/or questioning (LGBTQ) youth has become a significant public health concern. Despite the disparities in the risk factors associated with identifying as a member of the LGBTQ community, the theoretical frameworks for understanding these issues, particularly within criminology, have been limited. The purpose of this work is to review the historical treatment of gender and sexual orientation within criminology. More specifically, this work reviews how gender was introduced into criminology through the work of feminist criminology, followed by the need for theorization that further analyzed sexual orientation. This then became the focus of queer criminology. After tracing the historical development of gender and sexual orientation, the author uses the theoretical foundations of both to show how it applies to recognizing the issues faced by LGBTQ youth. Finally, the author discusses why consideration of these frameworks is paramount in understanding the issues faced by LGBTQ youth, as well as how such consideration and understanding can help mend the existing gap in providing safer environments for LGBTQ youth.     

Public library support of families experiencing homelessness

While public libraries are often used by people experiencing homelessness, the value of libraries for homeless children and families has been understudied. This brief explores how public libraries can support families experiencing homelessness and how they can engage with other service providers and agencies as part of a collective impact model to support a wide array of families’ needs. Since homelessness is the result of many interconnected social and economic conditions, this paper also examines how awareness and a lack of knowledge of these factors can impact service delivery and expectations. Finally, a case study of how the Queens Library in New York City engages with family shelters to support children’s learning and exploration is included to provide best practice examples.     

A Feminist Analysis of Flight of Abused Women,Plight of Canadian Shelters: Another Road to Homelessness

The paper explores the link between women abuse and homelessness. Although the examples are drawn from Canada, the argument is that the plight of abused women is similar throughout North America. First, I discuss the stereotypes about homelessness and the conservative governments' stance toward the homeless. Second, I introduce abuse of women as another road to homelessness. Third, I review the literature on dependent children from abusive homes as victims and witnesses who need social protection. Fourth, I establish the important role shelters play for women fleeing abusive relationships, by tracing the history of shelters. The tenuous position of the shelters in relation to conservative governments is emphasized. The paper ends with the consequences offear of homelessness for women and their children, and the public policy implications of the close link between abuse and homelessness.     

LGBTQ+ Youths’ Community Engagement and Resource Seeking Online versus Offline

Abstract

LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, etc.) youth are at increased risk for negative outcomes. Yet little is known about their engagement with communities and resources that may ameliorate risk, particularly online. Oriented by a uses and gratifications approach, this secondary analysis (n?=?4,009) of LGBTQ+ youth (aged 14–29) compares online versus offline experiences. Respondents were significantly more likely to participate in LGBTQ+ communities online. Youth were also more active, and felt safer and more supported, when participating in online LGBTQ?+?communities. Additionally, respondents sought online information, support, and resources at higher rates than offline. Increased attention toward online programming and resource development is warranted.