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Relationship Trajectories and Psychological Well-Being Among Sexual Minority Youth

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Abstract

Dating in adolescence plays an integral part in the development of sexual and social identities. This process is particularly salient for sexual minority youth who face additional obstacles to their identity formation due to their marginalized status. We investigated the influence of participating in a same-sex relationship (SSR) or an opposite-sex relationship (OSR) on sexual minority youths’ psychological well-being (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety and internalized homophobia, and self-esteem) in an ethnically-diverse sample of 350 youth (55% male) between the ages of 15–19 years, recruited from three GLBT drop-in centers in the New York City area. Using longitudinal data, we examined youths’ SSR and OSR over time. Multivariate regression analyses suggest that involvement in a SSR was positively associated with changes in self-esteem in males, and negatively correlated with changes in internalized homophobia in females. We discuss the implications for positive development in sexual minority adolescent populations.

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Acknowledgments

Data for this project was collected as part of a five-year National Institute of Mental Health grant, RO1-MH058155 (“Victimization and Mental Health among High Risk Youths”), awarded to Drs. Anthony R. D’Augelli and Arnold H. Grossman.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, SPH I, Room 3822, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA

    José A. Bauermeister, Michelle Marie Johns & Anna Eisenberg

  2. HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Theo G. M. Sandfort

  3. Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Arnold H. Grossman

  4. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Anthony R. D’Augelli

Authors
  1. José A. Bauermeister
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  2. Michelle Marie Johns
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  3. Theo G. M. Sandfort
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  4. Anna Eisenberg
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  5. Arnold H. Grossman
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  6. Anthony R. D’Augelli
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Correspondence to José A. Bauermeister.

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Bauermeister, J.A., Johns, M.M., Sandfort, T.G.M. et al. Relationship Trajectories and Psychological Well-Being Among Sexual Minority Youth. J Youth Adolescence 39, 1148–1163 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9557-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9557-y

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