Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018;19(2):119-131.
doi: 10.1080/15532739.2017.1407983. Epub 2018 Mar 7.

Discussing Transgender Topics within Gay-Straight Alliances: Factors that Could Promote More Frequent Conversations

V Paul Poteat  1 , Jerel P Calzo  2 , Hirokazu Yoshikawa  3 , Sj Miller  3 , Christopher J Ceccolini  1 , Sarah Rosenbach  3 , Nina Mauceri  3
Affiliations

Discussing Transgender Topics within Gay-Straight Alliances: Factors that Could Promote More Frequent Conversations

V Paul Poteat et al. Int J Transgend. 2018.

Abstract

Background: Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) have potential to facilitate conversations on transgender and gender diversity issues among members. We examined how frequently GSA members discussed transgender and gender diversity topics within GSAs, whether GSAs varied from one another in the extent to which these conversations occurred, and identified factors that distinguished which members and GSAs discussed such topics more often than others.

Methods: Participants were 295 members of 33 high school GSAs in the state of Massachusetts who completed surveys that assessed their experiences within their GSA.

Results: On average, youth discussed transgender and gender diversity issues with some regularity, but this varied significantly across GSAs and among youth within each GSA. Youth who had transgender friends, perceived a more respectful GSA climate, and accessed more information/resources and engaged in more advocacy within the GSA reported more frequently discussing transgender and gender diversity issues. Also, GSAs with transgender members, whose members collectively perceived a more respectful climate, accessed more information/resources and did more advocacy, and who reported lower socializing or support discussed transgender and gender diversity issues more frequently than other GSAs.

Conclusions: This information could inform GSA programming to facilitate more transgender and gender diversity topic discussions and ensure that members feel encouraged to participate in them.

Keywords: Gay-Straight Alliance; bisexual youth; gay; high school; lesbian; transgender youth; youth programs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Statement of Conflict of Interest The authors have no further conflict of interests to declare.

References

    1. Allport GW. The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books; 1954.
    1. Brechwald WA, Prinstein MJ. Beyond homophily: A decade of advances in understanding peer influence processes. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2011;21:166–179. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brock LL, Nishida TK, Chiong C, Grimm KJ, Rimm-Kaufman SE. Children’s perceptions of the classroom environment and social and academic performance: A longitudinal analysis of the contribution of the Responsive Classroom approach. Journal of School Psychology. 2008;46:129–149. - PubMed
    1. Campbell DE. Voice in the classroom: How an open classroom climate fosters political engagement among adolescents. Political Behavior. 2008;30:437–454.
    1. Clark TC, Lucassen MFG, Bullen P, Denny SJ, Fleming TM. The health and well-being of transgender high school students: Results from the New Zealand adolescent health survey (Youth’12) Journal of Adolescent Health. 2014;55:93–99. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources