Piloting Lead with Love: A Film-Based Intervention to Improve Parents’ Responses to Their Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Children

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are at increased risk for a variety of poor health outcomes, relative to their heterosexual counterparts, and recent research implicates family responses to a child’s sexual orientation as an important predictor of these health difficulties. Lead with Love is a 35-minute documentary-style preventive intervention created to improve parents’ behaviors toward their lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) children, by providing parents with support, information, and concrete behavioral guidance. The film was made available free online, and was promoted widely with a multi-media marketing campaign. In this paper we describe the theoretical and empirical rationale for the intervention, and report findings from pilot data collected in the first year after the film’s release. Specifically, we gathered data to examine the feasibility of reaching parents of LGB youth with this intervention, to determine whether it was acceptable, and to provide preliminary indicators of its potential efficacy. In the first 12 months after launch, 10,949 individuals viewed the film online. The film successfully reached parents of LGB youth (n = 1,865), including the hardest to reach parents: 21% had only learned about their child’s sexual orientation in the past month, 36% reported having an LGB child was “very” or “extremely” hard for them, and 86% had never obtained any other formal support for having an LGB child. Parents who completed a follow-up assessment immediately after the film reported significant pre- to post-film increases in self-efficacy for parenting an LGB child.

Exploring the Mother–Adolescent Relationship as a Promotive Resource for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth

“…In combination with high rates of maternal acceptance and warmth reported by SMY and GMY, our findings add to the growing literature on the potential promise of involving parents in health promotion work with SMY and GMY (Bouris et al., ; Ryan, Russell, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, ). The Family Acceptance Project (Ryan, ) and Lead With Love (Huebner, Mello, Thoma, McGarrity, & MacKenzie, ) are two U.S. programs that have developed evidence‐based materials and videos that feature families of color. Although neither program has been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial, the Family Acceptance Project is recognized as a Best Practice for Suicide Prevention by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.…”

Gay and Bisexual Adolescent Boys’ Perspectives on Parent–Adolescent Relationships and Parenting Practices Related to Teen Sex and Dating

“…For these parents, HIV prevention programs can be supplemented with interventions that provide support and information to improve attitudes and behaviors toward gay/bisexual children (e.g., the Lead with Love intervention) (Huebner, Rullo, Thoma, McGarrity, & Mackenzie, 2013). Finally, these findings also have implications for universal family-based HIV prevention programs.…”

What Reduces Sexual Minority Stress? A Review of the Intervention “Toolkit”

“…Interventions identified from our pool of articles were coded for two features. First, we coded each intervention for whether it attempted to lessen sexual minority stressors (e.g., reduce a parent's rejecting behaviors towards their sexual minority child; Huebner, Rullo, Thoma, McGarrity, & Mackenzie, 2013), attempted to bolster coping resources or strategies (e.g., LGB-adapted cognitive behavioral therapy; Ross, Doctor, Dimito, Kuehl, & Armstrong, 2008), or attempted to both lessens stressors and bolster coping resources or strategies (e.g., LGB-adapted attachment-based family therapy; Diamond et al, 2013). Second, we coded each intervention for whether it targeted change at the individual level (e.g., film to reduce individual prejudice; Ramirez-Valles, Kuhns, & Manjarrez, 2014), interpersonal level (e.g., teach medical or mental health professionals to utilize LGBaffirmative behavioral techniques; Rutter, Estrada, Ferguson, & Diggs, 2008), structural level (e.g., organizational sexual diversity policies; Button, 2001), or multiple levels (e.g., reduce individual LGB prejudice and create LGB-affirming spaces ;Finkel, Storaasli, Bandele, & Schaefer, 2003).…”

“…Smith, Axelton, & Saucier, 2009). Lead with Love offers a film-based intervention where parents view a 35-minute online film designed to help decrease rejecting behaviors and increase positive interactions with their sexual minority child (Huebner et al, 2013). In counseling contexts, students are educated about LGB-specific mental health and social concerns and engage in role-playing activities designed to bolster their LGB-affirmative clinical skills (Foreman & Quinlan, 2008;Rutter et al, 2008).…”

“…(Ramirez-Valles et al, 2014): An educational film and group discussions designed to reduce negative attitudes toward gay and bisexual men, transgender women.Within-subject, no control groupLatino high school students (N = 44) reported lower negative attitudes towards gay and bisexual men and transgender women after watching the film and engaging in discussions.IndividualLead with Love(Huebner et al, 2013): A 35-minute online film, Lead with Love, designed to bolster self-efficacy for decreasing rejecting behaviors and increasing positive family interactions.…”