TY - JOUR
T1 - Gay-Straight Alliances, School Functioning, and Mental Health
T2 - Associations for Students of Color and LGBTQ Students
AU - Baams, Laura
AU - Russell, Stephen T.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by grant, P2CHD042849, Population Research Center, awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors acknowledge generous support from the Communities for Just Schools Fund and support for Russell from the Priscilla Pond Flawn Endowment at the University of Texas at Austin.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - Utilizing a school-based sample of 895,218 students aged 10–18 years old, we examine differences in students’ school functioning, substance use, and mental health in schools with and without Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). In addition, we examine whether GSA presence is associated with these outcomes for students of color and LGBTQ students. Overall, students in schools with GSAs were found to report better school functioning, lower substance use, and better mental health. For students of color, the association between the presence of a GSA and mental health and substance use was not as strong as it was for non-Hispanic white students. Further, for LGBTQ students, the association between the presence of a GSA and school functioning was not as strong as it was for non-LGBTQ students. Future research is necessary to ascertain the function of GSAs, especially for marginalized youth.
AB - Utilizing a school-based sample of 895,218 students aged 10–18 years old, we examine differences in students’ school functioning, substance use, and mental health in schools with and without Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). In addition, we examine whether GSA presence is associated with these outcomes for students of color and LGBTQ students. Overall, students in schools with GSAs were found to report better school functioning, lower substance use, and better mental health. For students of color, the association between the presence of a GSA and mental health and substance use was not as strong as it was for non-Hispanic white students. Further, for LGBTQ students, the association between the presence of a GSA and school functioning was not as strong as it was for non-LGBTQ students. Future research is necessary to ascertain the function of GSAs, especially for marginalized youth.
KW - Gay-Straight Alliance
KW - LGBTQ
KW - race/ethnicity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089993479&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85089993479&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0044118X20951045
DO - 10.1177/0044118X20951045
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089993479
SN - 0044-118X
VL - 53
SP - 211
EP - 229
JO - Youth and Society
JF - Youth and Society
IS - 2
ER -