Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Education, 3939 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2019 Oct;48(10):1938-1951. doi: 10.1007/s10964-019-01108-w. Epub 2019 Aug 24.
Sexual/gender minority (Sexual/gender minority people are also referred to as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) youth are more likely than cisgender heterosexual youth to exhibit depressive symptoms and be victimized. School climate research indicates that the presence of a Gay-Straight Alliance (a Gay-Straight Alliance or Gender-Sexuality Alliance is also referred to as a GSA and is a youth group to support sexual/gender minority youth), a supportive school climate, and seeking help from teachers are associated with more positive mental health outcomes; however, they are not typically measured together. This study uses a survey that measures all four measures of school environment with a national sample of 240 sexual/gender minority high school students ages 14-18 (mean age 15.77) where 53% of participants had a Gay-Straight Alliance in their school. The sample is 53% cisgender, 100% sexual minority and 62% white. Adjusting for demographics and presence of a Gay-Straight Alliance, fewer depressive symptoms were associated with lower help-seeking intentions for suicidal thoughts. The presence of Gay-Straight Alliance was not statistically associated with past-month help-seeking intentions or behaviors. Additionally, a more supportive school climate was associated with lower anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, the presence of a Gay-Straight Alliance was not statistically associated with anxiety or depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that a supportive school climate and supportive school personnel may be important for supporting the mental health of sexual/gender minority students.
性少数群体（性少数群体也被称为女同性恋者、男同性恋者、双性恋者、跨性别者、酷儿）青年比顺性别异性恋青年更有可能表现出抑郁症状和成为受害者。学校氛围研究表明，存在同性恋异性恋联盟（同性恋异性恋联盟或性别性联盟也被称为 GSA，是一个支持性少数群体青年的青年团体）、支持性的学校氛围以及向教师寻求帮助与更积极的心理健康结果相关；然而，它们通常不会一起测量。本研究使用一项调查，该调查使用全国性少数群体高中生样本（年龄在 14-18 岁之间，平均年龄为 15.77 岁）测量了学校环境的所有四个方面，其中 53%的参与者所在学校有同性恋异性恋联盟。该样本的顺性别比例为 53%，性少数群体比例为 100%，白种人比例为 62%。在调整人口统计学和同性恋异性恋联盟的存在后，自杀念头的求助意愿较低与较少的抑郁症状相关。同性恋异性恋联盟的存在与过去一个月的求助意愿或行为没有统计学上的关联。此外，更支持性的学校氛围与较低的焦虑和抑郁症状相关。然而，同性恋异性恋联盟的存在与焦虑或抑郁症状没有统计学上的关联。这些发现表明，支持性的学校氛围和支持性的学校人员可能对支持性少数群体学生的心理健康很重要。
