Youth's experiences with inclusion, isolation, and discrimination in the LGBTQ+ community

Abstract

It has been well established that sexual‐ and gender‐minority youth are vulnerable to judgement and maltreatment by non‐LGBTQ+ peers. However, little research has focused on the experiences and interactions among youth specifically within the LGBTQ+ community. The purpose of the present study was to examine inclusion, isolation and discrimination within the LGBTQ+ community, while considering youths' sense of identity. Participants were 122 sexual minority and gender diverse youth between the ages of 14 and 25 years old. Participants completed self‐report measures assessing self‐esteem, as well as experiences in the LGBTQ+ community and strength of LGBTQ+ identities. Results indicated that, beyond the effect of self‐esteem, youth with a strongly developed identity as LGBTQ+ reported greater inclusion and less isolation in the LGBTQ+ community. In contrast, a more strongly developed gender identity was related to greater gender identity discrimination and less inclusion in the community. Sexual orientation identity strength was unrelated to experiences in the community. The results highlight the complexity of identity development for LGBTQ+ youth. Study findings emphasize the importance of future work considering the protective role of identifying with the LGBTQ+ community as a whole in mitigating intragroup exclusionary experiences among sexual minority and gender diverse youth. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Feelings of LGBTQ+ community belonging among diverse youth with LGBTQ+ parents in the United States.

“…This finding was especially salient for LGBTQ+ participants. This is consistent with literature indicating associations between being strongly identified as LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ community involvement (Closson & Comeau, 2021; Frost & Meyer, 2012), and literature about “second-gen” queer youth (Kuvalanka & Goldberg, 2009). Interestingly, participants with divorced caregivers appeared likely to emphasize local community involvement, perhaps because support outside of the family can be heavily impactful for youth with divorced caregivers (A.…”

“…Participants with these identities spoke about such exclusionary messages; gatekeeping made them feel unwelcome in the community. These experiences reflect stereotypes perpetuated in society, including within the LGBTQ+ community (Closson & Comeau, 2021; Levitt et al, 2023; McCormick & Barthelemy, 2021). Further, they point to a need for greater societal understanding of gender and sexuality.…”

Breaking the binary mold: Understanding social representations of nonbinary gender identities among the LGBTQIA+ Italian population.

“…Previous studies showed that, among LGBTQIA+ identities, the members more at risk of being negatively evaluated by others are those who disconfirm normative expectations concerning binary sexuality (Matsick & Rubin, 2018) and gender (Salvati et al, 2018). Moreover, a recent study showed that gender minorities might be discriminated against and less included because of the cisnormative narrative that permeates the LGBTQIA+ communities (Closson & Comeau, 2021). Little research has explicitly focused on attitudes and representations of nonbinary gender identities inside and outside the LGBTQIA+ population.…”