Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students: Perceived Social Support in the High School Environment

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth (LGBT) continue to face extreme discrimination within the school environment. Existing literature suggests that LGBT youth are at high risk for a number of health problems, including suicide ideation and attempts, harassment, substance abuse, homelessness, and declining school performance. This exploratory study consists of face-to-face interviews with 12 male and female participants, 18-21 years old, who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The purpose of the study is to determine the types of social support (emotional, appraisal, instrumental and informational) available to these young adults in high school. In addition, the study examines the connection between social support and sexual identity development. Participants found non-family members, which included peers and non-family adults, to be more supportive than family members. More specifically, participants perceived heterosexual and LGBT-identified friends and non-family adults as providing emotional and instrumental support. However, participants perceived limitations to the emotional support they received from heterosexual peers to whom they disclosed their orientation. In addition to providing emotional support, peers and adults who also identified as LGBT provided valuable informational and appraisal, support. Finally, most participants did not disclose to their parents during high school and perceived their parents and family members as offering limited emotional, appraisal and informational support. Confronted with their own sense of alienation and confusion, as well as the overwhelmingly negative messages about homosexuality in their home and school environments, respondents described their sexual identity formation as a process characterized by varying degrees of denial and acceptance. The need for multiple resources emerged as a major theme from participant responses to questions about what types of services and support they would have valued from their high school. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth Despite increasing visibility, persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) continue to face extreme social, legal and institutional discrimination within the United States. LGBT youth are an extremely vulnerable subset of the larger gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population. Given the degree of homophobia in our society, adolescents who are struggling with issues of sexual orientation face incredible challenges and lack many of the fundamental support systems available to their heterosexual peers (Gonsiorek, 1988). While estimates of the number of gays and lesbians range anywhere from 3% to 10% of the population, the latter figure is more widely accepted (Fontaine, 1998; Robinson, 1994; Marinoble, 1998; Omizo, Omizo, & Okamoto, 1998). Given these estimates, one can safely assume that a significant minority of adolescents in primary and secondary schools either self-identify as LGBT or are questioning their sexuality. The widespread social stigmatization of homosexuality has been blamed for a myriad of social and health problems that can disproportionately impact LGBT youth (Hetrick & Martin, 1987; Robinson, 1994; Remafedi, 1987; Savin-Williams, 1994; Center for Population Options, 1992). Many researchers have particularly focused on the lack of social support systems for lesbian and gay youth within our schools, identifying the classroom as the most homophobic of all social institutions (Elia, 1993; Unks, 1994; Governors' Task Force on Bias-Related Violence, 1988; Remafedi, 1987). This article seeks to understand lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth and available support systems in the high school environment. Overall, the literature on issues facing LGBT youth is rather limited (Radkowsky & Siegel, 1997; Fontaine, 1998) and much of the past research on this population has come from sources other than the youth themselves (Robinson, 1994). …