The purpose of this study was to examine national survey data from across the United States for respondents from two-year community colleges. Historically little empirical evidence exists in the literature about this population of students who identity as sexual minorities. The study begins with a historical overview of the LGBTQ rights movement. This provides a baseline for why studies including this invisible minority group are important and especially timely for two-year college campuses. Literature is barrowed from four-year college and university studies. Data were analyzed using the Rasch Partial Credit model. This analysis included testing for data-fit to the model, evaluation of items which did not fit the model, item mapping, differential functioning based on sexual identity, and standard descriptive statistics. The aim of this analysis was to determine if harassment, discrimination, and violence on campus towards sexual minority students occur and attempt to assess the prevalence of such activities. Results indicate that there doesn’t exist differences in responses between male and female participants. However, differences exist related to campus perceptions for sexual minority students and their non-minority (heterosexual) peers.

Utilizing a sample of lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parent families with school-age children, results suggested that parents engage in adoption communication less but racial-ethnic socialization more when a child is transracially adopted. No differences were found in lesbian and gay parents socialization practices for adoptive or racial-ethnic identity. Further, lesbian and gay parents engaged in sexual minority parent socialization less than adoptive or racial-ethnic socialization. Children’s self-worth was related to sex but not socialization practices such that girls reported lower self-worth, and no significant associations were present for children’s closeness. Children’s age, sex, and transracial adoptive status were predictive of their understanding of adoption and only children’s age was predictive of their recognition of sexual minority parent socialization. Children’s sex and transracial adoptive status as predictors of understanding of adoption have not yet been reported on in the literature. Further, no work has reported on associations between parent and child socialization practices in the context of sexual minority parent socialization. The implications of differences emerging in parent socialization frequency (i.e., racial-ethnic communication higher than adoptive communicative openness), as well as how children’s sex and transracial adoptive status contribute to children’s understanding of adoption will be discussed.

The original purpose of this quantitative study was to compare 5 self-reported sexual minority stress (SMS) factors experienced by lesbian and gay police officers to discover if lesbian or gay police officers experience more SMS, and which factor, if any, is the biggest stressor for either group as measured using subscales of the Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire (DHEQ). This study partially incorporated minority-stress theory as applied to sexual minorities. This study used subscales from the DHEQ in anonymous, online surveys. Because of the low response rate, the study changed to compare the group of lesbian and gay police officers' self-reports on levels of feelings of vigilance, harassment/discrimination, isolation, vicarious trauma, and victimization as compared to the established population values. The central research question asked if there was a significant difference between lesbian and gay police officers and the established population on self-reported factors of SMS, as measured by the DHEQ. Two-tailed t tests were used to analyze the data. The results showed that lesbian and gay officers reported significantly less SMS as determined by the 5 factors on the DHEQ. The results of this study could provide an impact on how administrators treat lesbian and gay officers and how LGBT policies are created and implemented for internal and external (e.g. LGBT communities) interactions. The results of this study could also provide insight for police psychologists and other mental health practitioners about SMS.

Despite substantial existing evidence that sexually diverse populations are at increased risk for mental health concerns due primarily to minority stress, how the underlying mechanisms of minority stress lead to specific psychological syndromes among these populations is not adequately understood. On the other hand, sexologists have been encouraged to shift the focus of their work towards understanding the specific characteristics or experiences that facilitate individuals' capacity to adapt and thrive within an oppressive and marginalizing society in order to "depathologize" nonheterosexuals. In attempts to address existing limitations and further the existing body of mental health risk and resiliency research among sexually diverse populations, three studies were conducted that sought to (a) examine how specific aspects of minority stress were individually and collectively associated with depression; (b) develop a new quantitative assessment tool used to evaluate the positive aspects of nonheterosexuality; and (c) explore levels of "outness" within various social contexts, as it relates to individuals' perceptions of the positive aspects of being nonheterosexual. Additionally, sociodemographic differences (e.g., gender, sexual identity, and level of affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS]) were explored with regard to each study's aims, respectively. Findings for Study 1 indicated that all minority stress factors examined were individually predictive of depression. When collectively examined, needs for others' acceptance was found to be the strongest predictor of depression, followed by internalized homophobia. Associations between specific stressors were moderated by level of affiliation with the LDS Church. Psychometric evaluations of the newly developed measure (Study 2) supported use of the measure by researchers and practitioners to evaluate positive aspects of nonheterosexuality. Finally, Study 3 demonstrated positive associations between perceived benefits of being nonheterosexual and disclosure of one's nonheterosexuality in all four social contexts examined. Results further indicated that levels of "outness" were moderated by gender. Implications for research and practice are discussed for each study.

Violence against gay men occurs every day. Stories can be found in newspapers, magazines, and on the World Wide Web reporting these incidences, yet there has been little research done from a qualitative perspective that explores the impact of violence on the lives of gay men. How do gay men make sense of the experience and the affects that violence perpetuated against them has on their lives? This research project examines the experiences of gay men that have been victims of various levels of violence directed at them as a result of their sexual orientation and identity as gay men. Using a qualitative approach, six gay men were interviewed and shared their experiences through personal interviews. The data collected within the interviews was then analyzed using Grounded Theory as the methodology. As there has been little research done on the impact that gay bashing has on gay men’s lives, the main objective of the research was to explore the experience of gay bashing with gay men that have been victims of such violence and gain a better understanding of the issues related to this experience. This research will add to the knowledge base around the experiences of sexual minority men and provide information for social workers, medical practitioners, law enforcement agencies, teachers and other service providers that will encounter gay men that are victims of violence. It provides valuable information that can be used to shape policy and practice to better assist gay men that are victims of violence. It also provides a voice to the many men whose stories are never heard and whose experiences are often discounted. / February 2009

The current study explored the association between sexual minorities’ experiences in schools and relationships. Socio-political-psychological theory provided a framework for the exploration of how retrospective reports of sexual orientation violence in school (SOVS) and school environment predicted the experience and perpetration of sexual minority intimate partner violence (SMIPV). Because of its relation to both school and interpersonal violence, alcohol was also hypothesized to predict rates of experiencing and perpetrating SMIPV. Group differences for all scales were explored on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, and education. Chi-square and analysis of variance analyses revealed several significant differences. Logistic regressions revealed that the experience of SOVS was not found to significantly affect the risk of experiencing or perpetrating SMIPV. However, a negative school environment was found to affect the risk of experiencing and perpetrating SMIPV differentially by gender and race, respectively. Results also revealed that alcohol significantly predicted the perpetration of SMIPV.

There is no doubt that relevant and up-to-date elementary school curriculum is vital for the adequate education and socialization of youth, however, when a society is characterized by ideological pluralism and multiple visions of morality the debates over curriculum can be acrimonious and tempestuous. These debates are particularly heated when sex education is concerned since adults in Western society have a longstanding cultural discomfort with child and adolescent sexual knowledge and, more specifically, there is a strong belief that sexual knowledge compromises the “natural” innocence and ignorance of young people. This research focuses on a debate that occurred in Ontario in April and May of 2010 after the Government attempted to revise Health and Physical Education curriculum for grades 1-8, the subject that contains sex education. Following considerable backlash, the Ontario Premier shelved the proposed revisions a mere 54 hours after the curriculum was publicized. What led to this curriculum being received so poorly by the public and what were the contributing factors that led to this abrupt reconsideration? My research examines the debate that the new sex education curriculum produced and draws attention to the ways in which the deep seated anxieties of adults regarding adolescent and child sexual knowledge were able to overpower the voices of researchers and educational experts who were promoting the revisions. Some adults were concerned about the way that the curriculum presented a particularly liberal vision of sexual morality and argued that the new content would corrupt, mislead, and confuse youth. Though there were some individuals and groups who supported the revisions, arguing that they were relevant, necessary and overdue, their voices were not as organized or influential as the religious and social conservatives who dominated the debate. I argue that the proposed revisions to the Ontario sex education curriculum failed to gain public support because of the Government’s inability to adequately prepare for and mediate the Province’s competing liberal and conservative sexual ideologies. In my defense of the abandoned revisions, I explore how they failed to gain support not only because of the vociferous opposition of conservative religious groups who did not want to see a more liberal vision of sexual morality in the curriculum, but also due to a longstanding cultural discomfort with child and adolescent sexual knowledge and an unwillingness to fully affirm non-heterosexual identities and practices within the education system. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2011-06-07 14:50:24.526

Violence against gay men occurs every day. Stories can be found in newspapers, magazines, and on the World Wide Web reporting these incidences, yet there has been little research done from a qualitative perspective that explores the impact of violence on the lives of gay men. How do gay men make sense of the experience and the affects that violence perpetuated against them has on their lives? This research project examines the experiences of gay men that have been victims of various levels of violence directed at them as a result of their sexual orientation and identity as gay men. Using a qualitative approach, six gay men were interviewed and shared their experiences through personal interviews. The data collected within the interviews was then analyzed using Grounded Theory as the methodology. As there has been little research done on the impact that gay bashing has on gay men’s lives, the main objective of the research was to explore the experience of gay bashing with gay men that have been victims of such violence and gain a better understanding of the issues related to this experience. This research will add to the knowledge base around the experiences of sexual minority men and provide information for social workers, medical practitioners, law enforcement agencies, teachers and other service providers that will encounter gay men that are victims of violence. It provides valuable information that can be used to shape policy and practice to better assist gay men that are victims of violence. It also provides a voice to the many men whose stories are never heard and whose experiences are often discounted.

The current study explored the association between sexual minorities’ experiences in schools and relationships. Socio-political-psychological theory provided a framework for the exploration of how retrospective reports of sexual orientation violence in school (SOVS) and school environment predicted the experience and perpetration of sexual minority intimate partner violence (SMIPV). Because of its relation to both school and interpersonal violence, alcohol was also hypothesized to predict rates of experiencing and perpetrating SMIPV. Group differences for all scales were explored on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, and education. Chi-square and analysis of variance analyses revealed several significant differences. Logistic regressions revealed that the experience of SOVS was not found to significantly affect the risk of experiencing or perpetrating SMIPV. However, a negative school environment was found to affect the risk of experiencing and perpetrating SMIPV differentially by gender and race, respectively. Results also revealed that alcohol significantly predicted the perpetration of SMIPV.

Bronfenbrenner (2001) proposes that individual development is based on reciprocal interactions between personal variables, social interactions and the environment. If exposed to a non-accepting environment, individuals are assumed to have poorer adjustment as compared to those in accepting environments. Once exposed to a more accepting environment, psychosocial adjustment is expected to increase. D’Augelli (1994b) also sees sexual identity development as influenced by interpersonal interactions occurring in one’s environment. Sexual minority adolescents have high rates of depression, suicidality and victimization, and lower levels of self-esteem and social support. Methodological issues, including recruitment and inclusion of only those who are “out”, have potentially inflated previous results regarding psychosocial maladjustment. Therefore, the current study was designed to address those methodological flaws. A sample consisting of 286 sexual minority college students completed the following measures: demographics questionnaire, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and victimization questionnaires. It was hypothesized that when controlling for social support, rural participants would report higher rates of psychological maladjustment (depression, suicidality, self-esteem) and victimization (in person and electronic), as compared to non-rural participants; males would have higher rates of suicidality and victimization as compared to females, whereas females were expected to have higher levels of depression and lower self-esteem as compared to males; and sexual minorities spending more time in an accepting macrosystem (greater than two years in college) were expected to have lower levels of psychological maladjustment and victimization than those spending less time in an accepting macrosystem (less than two years in college). It was also hypothesized that participants would report higher rates of victimization prior to college, as compared to when in college. Results showed that psychological maladjustment did not differ based on gender, environment or time spent in college. However, rates of psychological maladjustment were found to be lower than previous studies reported. This may indicate that previous research is skewed due to using a non representative sample. Rates of victimization were higher for participants prior to entering college, as compared to when in college, and were higher for men than women. No differences were found between rates of victimization between environments, however. These results may indicate different things. It is plausible that persons in rural environments are more accepting of sexual minorities than has been noted in the past. This may be due to the increased exposure of sexual minority issues in the media and the internet. However, rates of perceived social support were high for the current sample, and essentially the same between those from rural and non-rural areas. Such results may confirm Bronfenbrenner’s assertion that microsystemic processes combat psychological maladjustment. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services