Psy 230 Week 1 Assignment

The first three sets of theory incorporated the levels, shifting levels of identities shaped by outside agencies for LGBT youth. Another social factor that impending on young sexual minorities are the threats of poverty. These threats cause LGBT youth to experience vulnerability and detriment to their identities. Corliss et al. research validates that statement. In their article, “High Burden of Homelessness Among Sexual-Minority Adolescents: Findings From a Representative, Massachusetts High School, Sample,” they review the prevalence of homelessness in LGBT and heterosexual adolescents (Corliss et al. 1683). Their findings include: 40% LGBT student in the Massachusetts

The authors, researchers in this article acknowledged the different rates of homelessness in homosexuals and heterosexuals. However, their main focus is how it relates or apply to middle school students. Researchers used representative data, examining sexual identity and homelessness among Los Angeles Unified School District middle school students. They were also able to use

The L.G.B.T. community is not being treated fairly and are not being accepted by their families . Moreover, this issue could have several causes L.G.B.T teens are commiting suicide due to surmising that they are left alone and have no aid from the people they love the most. Another reason they are not being accepted is due to religious beliefs which view being homosexual as a sin. Parents do not realize that they’re harming their child's mental health by setting religion before their children.“Positive parenting practices, such as having honest and open conversations, can help reduce teen health risk behaviors.” In addition, parents conjecture that their parenting will be judge upon due to having a gay child. Causing parents to be shameful

When coming out as a gay individual, there is a desire to be loved and accepted for who they are by the family. When parents reject their child’s sexual orientation it often comes to kicking the child out of their home out of shame for their sexuality. In recent statistics, ‘Studies indicate that between 25% and 50% of homeless youth are LGBT and on the streets because of their sexual orientation or gender identity’ (Pflagnyc, Statistics You Should Know About Gay and Transgender Students). LGBT youth’s also have an increased chance of living in an abusive household with older parents due to a contrast of two different generations. The young generation of today is more susceptible to accepting LGBT members because it is a more liberal time period. However, the older generations are most likely to shun them due to biblical or principals that they grew up with. The more accepting parents are of things they cannot change, the happier the child often is after coming out to them.

In this article, the "It Gets Better" program is discussed along with the importance of childhood among LGBT youth. The "It Gets Better" program is a collection of videos made and uploaded by people who lend their stories and support to young suicidal LGBT youth. These people include those who have made it through their own difficult struggles because of their sexual and/or gender identity. The article makes it a point that all of these people are older and have "gotten better", but these youth are still facing the brunt of the stigma against them. It is also said that mental illness begins when one is young, and that it starts with the family; the need to have a healthy support and engagement system is vital. When lacking, it can lead to trauma and in a society were LGBT people are largely considered deviant, there

The goal of this study was to dispute the negative “heterosexism” perceptions attached to the development of children with parents who identify as gay and lesbian. The authors focused on the analysis of previous research findings, comparing the outcomes of the children from heterosexual single-mothers and homosexual parents, particularly lesbian mothers. These studies explored the relationship between homophobia, the sexual orientation of the parents and the outcome of the child; in addition to the influence on sexual preferences and well-being of the children.

Furthermore, many previous educational studies have focused on heterosexual family structures, excluding same-sex families entirely. A further concern, is the impact a transition to a new category of family structure may have on a child. This is relevant to most family structure types, and applies directly to a lot of same-sex parent family situations. Primarily, same-sex families are formed by the dissolution of a previous heterosexual relationship, with either one or both of the child’s biological parents forming new family homes. Subsequently, creating stress, instability and sometimes confusing for the child. Taking all previous factors into account, this investigation was conducted using a dynamic model for data collection, thus allowing for the inclusion of instability issues and transitions to be recorded. In addition, this was a longitudinal, seven-wave panel study of over twenty-thousand children, ranging from kindergarten to grade

In the last decade, in particular, there has been an increasing awareness of the rights and struggles of the LGBTQ community.As a result, positive changes such as recognition and legalization of same-sex marriage, prohibition of discrimination based on gender identity/expression and sexual orientation, and greater rights for the LGBTQ community in public and private spheres have come about. However, the LGBTQ community is not a uniform entity; rather, it encapsulates a variety of distinct identities and lifestyles, many of whom are still fighting for their rights and freedoms. An example of this is the transgender community, which consists of, but is not limited to, individuals whose gender identity does not align with their biological sex. While dealing with transphobia at any age is devastating and harmful, for transgender teens, adolescents, and young adults, it can lead to lifetime of trauma.It can not only lead to feelings of marginalization, rejection, and isolation, but also the likelihood of mental illness, suicidal tendencies, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, and homelessness among trans adolescents and teens.

The debate of parents’ sexual orientation and how it affects the child is still controversial in today’s society. Some scholars have argued that it has a huge impact on the child’s well-being and sexual orientation, others disregard this notion saying there is no correlation between these factors. This topic was chosen after stumbling on a video, which showed children of same-sex parents discussing their lives with their parents, explaining it as the best experience of their life. Therefore, I wanted to know if these children are any different from children with heterosexual parents. The myth that same-sex marriage is dysfunctional for children is very common. Society believes that in a family, there must be a father figure and an expressive mother, but the purpose of this research is to understand if children of same-sex parents are negatively affected by their parent’s sexual orientation.

Family Acceptance Project (FAP) researchers found that “families who are conflicted about their children’s LGBT identity believe that the best way to help their children survive and thrive in the world is to help them fit in with their heterosexual peers.” It’s been said that when family members try to hinder their child’s connection with their gay friends, they said that they are just looking after them. FAP stated that “they believe that their actions will help their gay or transgender child have a better life. But these young adolescents feel like their parents do not love them enough and that they couldn’t accept their sexual preferences.” FAP also added that “lack of communication and misunderstanding between parents and their LGBT children

Ongoing research is needed in determining the most effective ways parents can interact positively with their Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender (LGBT) teenager. However, as discussed, there are ways in which parents can effectively interact with their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) teenagers that can enhance the relationship, and provide a positive outcome for the teenager. A parent’s response to their teen’s sexual orientation can have greatly impact the teens mental and physical health (Bouris A., Guilamo-Ramos V, et

Socioemotional development for an adolescent heading into young adulthood can be a very complex and difficult stage to grasp and to fully understand especially if they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). Having emotions of affection towards someone of the same-sex can be quite confusing when you are coming into adulthood. Many questions and many more emotions arise when trying to deal with the situation. Now, throw in some religion and what do you get? Chaos, fear and even more confusion. One man and one women is how it always supposed to be, right? Am I going against what the Bible says or even how I was raised? What do I do? What would my friends and family think? WHAT ABOUT MY PARENTS? Should I “come-out” or keep this a secret? As an adolescence raised in a society that is well-known for its traditional values of only one man and one woman, they begin to question and challenge the very existence of those values as they come into early adulthood. In today’s society, LGBT adolescences’ coming into young adulthood are becoming more exposed to discriminations against LGBT such as those of North Carolina’s new anti-LGBT law or the even more extensive bill that was recently passed in Mississippi that would protect and encourage business owners in the state to discriminate against people of the LGBT community. How would this effect a young LGBT adult coming into the workforce? For my Signature Assignment, I will be focusing on the socioemotional development on

Have you ever felt afraid to be yourself? Uncomfortable in your own skin? Not even being able to call your own house a home? This is what teens all across America are forced to do because of an unwritten prejudice that is being held against them by their own family. LGBT teens are proven to have a higher death rate, whether is be by suicide or murder. Now what is causing this? What is causing innocent teens to feel like there is no hope left? The main issue is seems to be acceptance. Families need to be more accepting of children regardless of their sexuality by growing a support system and giving their child love; who their children are attracted to does not make them any less human.

Homosexuality has been in the media as being something negative because it strays from the norm and makes people feel uneasy, but the media is forever changing. The public view on homosexuality is changing for the better due to the Supreme Court’s Ruling on the legalization of same-same marriage. As a result from this, adolescents feel like there is now an environment that is ready and willing to accept the LGBT community as a whole and help individuals nourish the idea of self-acceptance. More and more individuals are starting to identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to their peers, parents or both. For these specific few, disclosing their sexual orientation, or coming out, is a significant experience and for someone like myself who is going through such an experience like this I was ultimately brought to this specific topic. Through research, sociologists have discovered that different themes could be established from this process such as alienation, uneasiness, fear, self-acceptance, and security within your sexuality. It has been concluded that through this coming out experience, the feeling of liberation is realized.

Today’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youths come out to family and friends at a younger age and public policy and support for their community is on the rise, yet LGBT youth are still faced with a significant risk of mental health issues. Adolescence is an important period of life characterized by rapid development where teenagers experience physical sexual changes and establish their gender identity. Youth who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual have been proven to demonstrate higher mental health and substance abuse issues than their heterosexual peers (Seil, Desai, & Smith 2014). Stressors from identifying as an LGBT youth come at different milestones in an individual’s life, but are not limited to: the age of first awareness of same-sex orientation, age of labeling oneself as LGBT, age of first disclosure of sexual orientation, and the age at which they disclose to a parent their orientation. When individuals are young, and realize they identify with a sexual minority, they may face psychological danger due to the risk of prejudice, discrimination, and living in a world that fosters “hereosexual love” (Kwak & Kim 2017). Most youths spend about one-third of their life aware of their same-sex orientation, but do not reveal this information to others. These years of secrecy and internalization can create significant worry, social withdrawal, fear, poor academic performance, and school avoidance. Normative experiences for LGBT youth are classified as victimization because of the psychological conflict they impose on individuals. Such experiences include: feeling different, experiencing atypical family life due to sexual orientation issues, and burdens such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This type of victimization in youth has been hypothesized to create a detrimental effect on mental health in adult years. Also, many LGBT youth experience verbal and physical attacks from their peers (D’Augelli, 2002). According to the 2011 “national school climate study”, 81.9% of sexual orientation minorities experienced unfair harassment due to their orientation and 63.5% believed their school to be an unsafe environment, ultimately not attending (Kwak & Kim 2017). The minority stress model argues