LGBTQ Youth-Serving Community-Based Organizations: Who Participates and What Difference Does it Make?

Future Directions in Understanding and Addressing Mental Health among LGBTQ Youth

“…LGBTQ youth centers have been long-standing institutions in major cities, and their presence is growing in communities all over the country (Allen et al, 2012;CenterLink & Movement Advancement Project, 2018;Williams et al, 2019). Preliminary research suggests that LGBTQ youth who attend these organizations report better self-esteem and lower substance use when compared to LGBTQ youth who do not engage with centers (Fish, Moody, et al, 2019). These programs offer a safe space for LGBTQ youth to meet one another, seek social support, foster community, and engage in mental and medical health care services specifically designed to address the unique needs of LGBTQ young people.…”

“…These programs offer a safe space for LGBTQ youth to meet one another, seek social support, foster community, and engage in mental and medical health care services specifically designed to address the unique needs of LGBTQ young people. Importantly, the emerging literature in this area finds that youth of color, transgender youth, and youth who experience economic precarity are more likely to engage in LGBTQ community-based centers (CenterLink & Movement Advancement Project, 2018;Fish, Moody, et al, 2019;Williams et al, 2019), suggesting their ability to reach youth who are often at the margins of other LGBTQ events and programs. Thus, LGBTQ youth centers may be a unique partner in advancing research and practice around supporting the mental health and positive development of LGBTQ youth.…”

“…Nevertheless, LGBTQ youth centers have not received much empirical attention (Allen et al, 2012;Fish, Moody, et al, 2019). In the process of translating knowledge to action, LGBTQ youth centers may be a missing link given their history of developing, adapting, and delivering LGBTQ-specific, youth-based, community programs (Williams et al, 2019).…”

The Rejection Sensitivity Model: Sexual Minority Adolescents in Context

“…For sexual minority adolescents, the school context might be particularly amenable to change by implementing inclusive policies and programs that reduce bullying and improve acceptance (Day, Ioverno, & Russell, 2019 ). LGBTQ community centers (see Fish, Moody, Grossman, & Russell, 2019 ; Williams, Levine, & Fish, 2019 ) may also be uniquely positioned to deliver programs that increase sexual minority youth’ self-esteem and develop coping strategies to address RS and the associated mental health consequences. Additionally, psychoeducation and advocacy has improved support and acceptance in the family context (Parker, Hirsch, Philbin, & Parker, 2018 ), while medical systems might benefit from education and training to improve accessibility and cultural competence (Bidell & Stepleman, 2017 ).…”

Anna Vannucii Receives Emerging Scholar Best Article Award, 2020

“…Vannucci and McCauley Ohannessian's (2019) article was one of several finalists that focused on mental health and well-being (Kwong et al 2019;McDermott et al 2019;Rose et al 2019). Other finalists focused more on violence and delinquency (Davis et al 2019;Garthe et al 2019;Levey et al 2019), school environments and outcomes (Binning et al 2019;Gharaei et al 2019;Gubbels et al 2019;Lippert et al 2019) or community influences (Fish et al 2019;Raposa et al 2019).…”