Research Rodeo 3
Hello everyone, and Chag Channukah Sameach to all of my Jewish followers! I hope you are all having a Channukah full of light during a dark time.
This week, we are doing another research rodeo; a roundup of some recent research that has come out in the past few months. As always, if you want copies of these articles, please send me a message and I am happy to share them with you!
Price, Adler, and Gilmarten (2023) “Invisibly Invisible: An LGBTQ+ Self-Advocate Perspective on the Anti-LGBTQ+ Movement”. This autoethnography explores how organizations can better support LGBTQIA+ individuals who have disabilities. Using the coming out story by Adler as a guide, this article challenges the LGBTQIA+ community to discuss intersectionalities, specifically how the community can support those who have disabilities.
Abramovich, Pang, and MacKinnon (2023) “Investigating the mental health outcomes among LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness in York Region, Ontario”. This open-access article adds to the expansive literature on the needs of homeless LGBTQIA+ youth. Homelessness is a big issue within the queer community, with many young people leaving or being kicked out of their homes and nowhere to go. The respondents in this study reported how mental health issues have led to being unable to stay on top of finances or school. This is compounded by a lack of treatment options, leading to a high suicidality rate. Respondents also dealt with family rejection, stigma, discrimination, and difficulty knowing when to and not to disclose their LGBTQIA+ status. Overall, this reminds us that we need more systems and support in place for LGBTQIA+ homeless youth. Homeless shelters and similar organizations should have an understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community and how organizations can help them.
Campbell-Montalvo et al. (2023) “Que(e)rying How Professional STEM Societies’ Serve Queer and Trans Engineering and Science Undergraduates”. With everyone exploring how to get more kids into STEM, one important question is how to make STEM more welcoming to queer and trans children. This mixed-methods study shows the importance of creating a community for sexual and gender minorities so they feel welcome and safe. Indeed, transgender and nonbinary STEM students reported having less access to social networks, professional resources, and academic resources. It is important for STEM organizations to create resources for LGBTQIA+ communities, especially trans and nonbinary students, so they know that these professional societies (and these professions in general) are welcoming environments for them.
Jones & Worthen (2023) “Measuring the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences in the lives of LGBTQ individuals: A much-needed expansion”. In their article, Jones and Worthen suggest that understanding adverse childhood experiences (ACE) needs to be modified to understand the experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals’ life experiences. Some of the specific experiences, which was from Table 2 of the article, can be found below:
Understanding these ACEs can help nonprofits, educational organizations, and other organizations explore the traumas that LGBTQIA+ youth and adults have lived through and how they might be different than their cisgender/heterosexual peers.
As I continue this series, let me know if there are any recent articles you have read that have been of interest to you. And let me know if you want copies of any of these articles. Have a great week!