Participation in organized physical activity and discomfort with locker rooms among youth across sexual, gender, and racial identities.

Abstract

Implications for Impact StatementFeeling uncomfortable in locker rooms is a frequently endorsed barrier to engaging in any organized physical activity among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) youth, who participate at rates nearly half that of their cisgender/heterosexual peers. Pediatric psychologists can help support LGBTQ+ youth explore strategies to navigate binary locker rooms through developing problem-solving skills and self-advocacy skills. Beyond the individual level, pediatric psychologists can also play a role in advocating for restructuring the binary nature of locker rooms given the potential mental and physical health benefits of having more inclusive spaces to access organized physical activity.