Suchergebnisse

This report contains the availability of judicial review regarding military base closures and realignments.

Same‐sex attracted youth (SSAY) experience higher rates of negative mental health outcomes compared with their heterosexual peers; however, the association between sexual minority status and academic achievement is less clear. We used four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to compare 1,279 ethnically diverse SSAY (57% male) based on the degree to which they were "engaged" (65%) or "disengaged" (35%) in school, classified through cluster analysis techniques. The pattern of results indicated significantly better mental health among the engaged group one and 6 years later (e.g., fewer depressive symptoms, less alcohol use), and more occupational and educational achievement eleven years later. The implications of school connection and achievement across a decade of life are discussed.

Adolescence is a time of identity exploration, and preliminary evidence indicates the ways adolescents are describing their sexual and gender identities (SOGI) are changing. A nuanced understanding of SOGI is necessary for valid assessment in developmental research. Current measures do not capture the diversity of emerging identities among young people. Our study analyzed a national sample of 17,112 sexual and gender minority adolescents (13–17 years) to better understand how identity labels are reported across sexual, gender, and ethnoracial minorities. Adolescents reported 26 distinct SOGI categories; 24% of adolescents utilized nontraditional SOGI labels, such as pansexual and nonbinary. These identifications varied significantly as a function of ethnoracial identity. Results have implications for how scholars conceptualize and measure SOGI among adolescents.

Hooking up may be one pathway for sexual and gender minority (SGM) emerging adults to explore their sexual identity development while they navigate heteronormative milestones. Framed by Dillon et al.'s (2011) model of universal sexual identity development, we examined 24 interviews with SGM emerging adults to understand whether and how hooking up aided in the development of their sexual identities beyond their sexual orientation. Although some participants already reported stable sexual identities prior to hooking up, we identified that hooking up did lead others to develop their sexual preferences more fully, better understand their sexual identity, and strengthen their connections to the SGM community. These findings suggest that hooking up can facilitate positive sexual development among sexual and gender minority emerging adults.