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. 2021 Jun 29;20(1):150.
doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01488-1.

Pride Camp: Pilot study of an intervention to develop resilience and self-esteem among LGBTQ youth

Lance S Weinhardt  1 , Linda M Wesp  2 , Hui Xie  1 , Jennifer Jen Murray  3 , Jeanette Martín  3 , Sarah DeGeorge  3   4 , Caleb B Weinhardt  5 , Maren Hawkins  6 , Patricia Stevens  2
Affiliations

Pride Camp: Pilot study of an intervention to develop resilience and self-esteem among LGBTQ youth

Lance S Weinhardt et al. Int J Equity Health. .

Abstract

Background: Many LGBTQ youth experience rejection and discrimination in their families and schools, and the range of interventions for improving their resilience and well-being is limited. We developed and piloted an LGBTQ-youth-focused intervention to build resilience and promote health equity, called Pride Camp, in an urban environment in the Midwest.

Methods: Using a mixed-method approach we examined the impact of Pride Camp on resilience and other measures of well-being among LGBTQ high school students who attended camp on a college campus in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Camp attendees and the research sample included a majority proportion of transgender and gender nonbinary (TGN) youth.

Results: Pre- and post-test data from our quantitative surveys (n = 28), indicated significant increases in resilience, self-esteem, and quality of life in LGBTQ youth who attended camp. Similar results were found among the TGN participants (n = 19). Qualitative data from focus groups indicated that specifically for TGN youth, the affirming environment at the camp provided social opportunities that they had not found elsewhere.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that the Pride Camp intervention provides a platform for LGBTQ youth to meet peers and engage in LGBTQ communities, improving their resilience and outlook on the future. A larger controlled study of the Pride Camp intervention including measurement of additional specific health outcomes over a longer follow-up period is warranted to examine the impact of this program on health equity.

Keywords: Community connections; LGBTQ youth; Resilience; Transgender youth; Youth camp.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

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