Membership experiences in gender-sexuality alliances (GSAs) predict increased hope and attenuate the effects of victimization.

We examined whether students' experiences in their Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) over the school year predicted positive development or thriving in the form of higher relative levels of hope at the end of the school year and whether GSA experiences also promoted resilience by attenuating the link between victimization and lower relative levels of hope among 366 student members of 38 GSAs (Mage = 15.53 years; 85% sexual minority; 55% cisgender female; 72% White). Our findings indicated that, when considered one at a time, students' perceptions of receiving more social-emotional support, receiving more information and resources, and undertaking more advocacy in their GSA throughout the school year predicted higher relative levels of hope at the end of that school year (adjusted for students' initial hope at the beginning of the year). When considering all three GSA-based experiences concurrently, receiving more information and resources in their GSA had a unique predictive association with hope and it reduced the extent to which reported experiences of victimization at school predicted diminished hope at the end of the year. There was a similar, though statistically non-significant, moderating trend for advocacy.

LGBT people and suicidality in youth: A qualitative study of perceptions of risk and protective circumstances.

Evidence suggests that lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people are more likely to attempt to take their own lives in their youth when compared to heterosexual and/or cisgender people. This study draws on in-depth interviews with 17 LGBT individuals living in England, and explores the narratives used by participants to better understand their perceptions of risk and protective circumstances to explain suicide attempts in youth. Using a Goffman-informed thematic analysis, results identified three key themes that were linked to attempts to end life in youth. The first theme considers the conflicts resulting from first disclosure of sexual orientation and/or gender identity/trans status and being 'out' to others. The second theme explores participants' accounts of their concurrent mental health issues and how diagnoses of the mental health issues helped them make sense of their own experiences of attempted suicide. The final theme explores the experience of grieving over lost relationships and how that grief is received by others, including health professionals. Our results indicate that some LGBT individuals have effectively, although often arduously, navigated suicidal crises by utilising various approaches to coping. We provide a rich and layered picture of LGBT suicide risk in youth and potential resilience scenarios, although these are a reflection of our specific group of participants' experiences and realities. We argue that it is important to understand how LGBT individuals with a history of suicide attempts narrate and make sense of their experiences in early life and we suggest that the early negative experiences continue to have an effect on LGBT adults today.

Potential suicide ideation and its association with observing bullying at school.

PURPOSE: To explore those contextual factors that predict potential suicide ideation among students who observe bullying at school. METHODS: 1,592 students of whom 1,009 who reported having observed bullying at school were surveyed from 14 secondary schools in the North of England. Role-related (not-involved, victim, perpetrator, 'bully-victim' and observer) and gender-wise comparisons of key variables were undertaken prior to hierarchical multiple regressions to determine those associated with potential suicide ideation. RESULTS: Analyses indicated that students who observed bullying behavior were significantly more likely than those not involved in bullying to report symptoms of interpersonal sensitivity, to indicate greater helplessness and potential suicide ideation. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that, among boys, helplessness (ß = .48, p < .001) followed by frequency of bullying perpetration (ß = .11, p < .001), and a less supportive home climate (ß = -.10, p < .004) were associated with potential suicide ideation. Helplessness was found to be the only variable associated with potential suicide ideation among girls (ß = .49, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Perceived helplessness is significantly associated with potential suicide ideation among students who observe bullying at school.

Developmental trends in peer victimization and emotional distress in LGB and heterosexual youth.

OBJECTIVES: This study had 2 objectives: Our first objective was to provide the first evidence of developmental trends in victimization rates for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB)- and heterosexual-identified youth, both in absolute and relative terms, and to examine differences by gender. Our second objective was to examine links between victimization, sexual identity, and later emotional distress. METHODS: Data are from a nationally representative prospective cohort study of youth in England were collected annually between 2004 and 2010. Our final analytic dataset includes 4135 participants with data at all 7 waves; 4.5% (n = 187) identified as LGB. Analyses included hierarchical linear modeling, propensity score matching, and structural equation modeling. RESULTS: LGB victimization rates decreased in absolute terms. However, trends in relative rates were more nuanced: Gay/bisexual-identified boys became more likely to be victimized compared with heterosexual-identified boys (wave 1: odds ratio [OR] = 1.78, P = .011; wave 7: OR = 3.95, P = .001), whereas relative rates among girls approached parity (wave 1: OR = 1.95, P = .001; wave 7: OR = 1.18, P = .689), suggesting different LGB-heterosexual relative victimization rate trends for boys and girls. Early victimization and emotional distress explained about 50% of later LGB-heterosexual emotional distress disparities for both boys and girls (each P < .015). CONCLUSIONS: Victimization of LGB youth decreases in absolute, but not necessarily relative, terms. The findings suggest that addressing LGB victimization during adolescence is critical to reducing LGB-heterosexual emotional distress disparities but additional support may be necessary to fully eliminate these disparities.

"I kiss them because I love them": the emergence of heterosexual men kissing in British institutes of education.

In this article, we combined data from 145 interviews and three ethnographic investigations of heterosexual male students in the U.K. from multiple educational settings. Our results indicate that 89% have, at some point, kissed another male on the lips which they reported as being non-sexual: a means of expressing platonic affection among heterosexual friends. Moreover, 37% also reported engaging in sustained same-sex kissing, something they construed as non-sexual and non-homosexual. Although the students in our study understood that this type of kissing remains somewhat culturally symbolized as a taboo sexual behavior, they nonetheless reconstructed it, making it compatible with heteromasculinity by recoding it as homosocial. We hypothesize that both these types of kissing behaviors are increasingly permissible due to rapidly decreasing levels of cultural homophobia. Furthermore, we argue that there has been a loosening of the restricted physical and emotional boundaries of traditional heteromasculinity in these educational settings, something which may also gradually assist in the erosion of prevailing heterosexual hegemony.

Morbidity among bystanders of bullying behavior at school: concepts, concerns, and clinical/research issues.

The role of the bystander is not one that is easily understood in the anti-bullying literature. Roles within the unofficial hierarchy of the school-yard and playground overlap considerably, and each role has its own social dynamic that brings with it a shifting behavioral landscape that affects every student. In this article, the mental health correlates of three categories of bystander are explored: the co-victim, the isolate, and the confederate. Each category of bystander has its own characterizations and mental health correlates. Reports of post-traumatic stress, internalized hostility, substance use, and suicide ideation are discussed with reference to studies involving witnesses of family abuse, community and school violence as well as bullying. It is argued that bystanders are the key to challenging bullying in schools, and their mental health and well-being is pivotal to the effectiveness of anti-bullying interventions.

Participant roles in bullying behavior and their association with thoughts of ending one's life.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that students who are bullied at school are at an increased risk of poor mental health and suicide. Little is known, however, about those who have other participant roles in bullying interactions (e.g., bystanders). AIMS: To better understand the implications exposure to bullying has upon thoughts of ending life among students who have multiple participant roles. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 2,002 students (55% boys, 45% girls) aged 12 to 16 years (M = 13.60, SD = 1.06) attending 14 schools in the North of England. RESULTS: The majority of students in this study were involved in bullying behavior at school as victims, bullies, bystanders, or a combination of all three. Those with multiple roles (victim, bully, and bystander) were significantly more likely to report having had thoughts of ending their life. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study have significant implications for clinicians, educational, and school psychologists working with students involved in bullying behavior. Whole school antibullying initiatives are necessary to reduce the psychological distress and thoughts of ending life found among members of the school population. Further studies exploring covictimization among bystanders and revictimization among former victims of bullying are recommended.

Victimization, social support, and psychosocial functioning among children of same-sex and opposite-sex couples in the United Kingdom.

To further develop an understanding of psychological and social functioning of children raised by lesbian couples, the authors compared 18 students ages 12-16 raised in families led by female same-sex couples, who were identified from a large school-based survey, with 18 matched students raised by opposite-sex couples and the general student sample. Comparisons were made on factors including victimization, social support, and psychological functioning. Results indicate that those students raised by female same-sex couples did not differ significantly from those raised by opposite-sex couples or the general student sample in terms of reports of victimization, psychological functioning, experience of common adolescent concerns, or prospective use of support outlets provided by family and peers. However, children of same-sex couples reported significantly less likelihood of using school-based support than did children of opposite-sex couples or the general student sample. Findings indicate the need for school administrators, teachers, and psychologists to be knowledgeable of and provide appropriate support and resources for these children. Additional implications for research and application are discussed.

Recollections of bullying at school and their long-term implications for lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals.

This study explores the relationship between experiences of bullying at school, adult mental health status, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress among a sample of 119 UK residents who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Participants completed a series of questionnaires that focused upon school experiences, suicide ideation at school, sexual history, relationship status and negative affect, recent positive and negative life-events, internalized homophobia, and symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress. The results suggested that posttraumatic stress was a potential issue for 17% of participants who also scored significantly higher for depression, and reported having had more casual sexual partners than their peers. However, those who were found to exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress were also more accepting of their sexual orientation. A small number of participants used prescription or nonprescription drugs, or alcohol to help them cope with memories of bullying. It is suggested that posttraumatic stress may be a feature of the adult lives of men and women who experienced frequent and prolonged bullying at school as a result of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.