Abstract
The life course framework (Roy and Settersten, 2022) offers unique theoretical perspectives on the health and wellness of sexual minority (e.g., lesbian, gay, and bisexual [LGB]) people and their families. In particular, tenets of life course theory encourage the recognition of both human developmental and sociohistorical time, two interrelated constructs that provide unique vantage points for understanding sexual minority people, their health, and their familial relationships. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the utility of the life course framework for advancing empirical and conceptual understandings of understudied populations and processes. Below are three examples that highlight how principles of life course theory advance perspectives of sexual minority population health in the context of human development and family relationships.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Beck-Gernsheim, E. (1998). On the way to a post-familial family: From a community of need to elective affinities. Theory, Culture & Society, 15, 53–70.
D’Augelli, A. R., Grossman, A. H., & Starks, M. T. (2008). Families of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth: What do parents and siblings know and how do they react? Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 4(1), 95–115.
Fish, J. N., & Baams, L. (2018). Trends in alcohol-related disparities between heterosexual and sexual minority youth from 2007 to 2015: Findings from the youth risk behavior survey. LGBT Health, 5(6), 359–367.
Fish, J. N., & Pasley, K. (2015). Sexual (minority) trajectories, mental health, and alcohol use: A longitudinal study of youth as they transition to adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(8), 1508–1527.
Fish, J. N., Rice, C. E., Lanza, S. T., & Russell, S. T. (2018). Is young adulthood a critical period for suicidal behavior among sexual minorities? Results from a US national sample. Prevention Science, 20, 353–365.
Fish, J. N., Russell, B. S., Watson, R. J., & Russell, S. T. (2020). Parent-child relationships and sexual minority youth: Implications for adult alcohol abuse. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49(10), 2034–2046. PMCID: PMC7487049.
Fish, J. N., Turner, B., Phillips, G., & Russell, S. T. (2019). Cigarette smoking disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual youth. Pediatrics, 143, e20181671.
Hammack, P. L., Frost, D. M., Meyer, I. H., & Pletta, D. R. (2018). Gay men’s health and identity: Social change and the life course. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47, 59–74.
Harris, K. M. (2009). The National Longitudinal Study of adolescent to adult health (add health), waves I & II, 1994–1996; wave III, 2001–2002; wave IV, 2007–2009 [machine-readable data file and documentation]. Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Needham, B. L., & Austin, E. L. (2010). Sexual orientation, parental support, and health during the transition to young adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(10), 1189–1198.
Peter, T., Edkins, T., Watson, R., Adjei, J., Homma, Y., & Saewyc, E. (2017). Trends in suicidality among sexual minority and heterosexual students in a Canadian population-based cohort study. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 4(1), 115–123.
Roy, K., & Settersten, R. (2022). The family life course framework: Perspectives on interdependent lives and inequalities. In Sourcebook of family theories and methodologies. Springer.
Russell, S. T., Bishop, M. D., Mallory, A. B., & Muraco, J. A. (2020). The use of representative datasets to study LGBT-parent families: Challenges, advantages, and opportunities. In A. E. Goldberg & K. R. Allen (Eds.), LGBT-parent families (pp. 491–506). New York.
Russell, S. T., & Fish, J. N. (2016). Mental health in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 465–487.
Russell, S. T., & Fish, J. N. (2019). Sexual minority youth, social change, and health: A developmental collision. Research in Human Development, 16(1), 5–20.
Russell, S. T., Toomey, R. B., Ryan, C., & Diaz, R. M. (2014). Being out at school: The implications for school victimization and young adult adjustment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(6), 635–643.
Ueno, K. (2010). Mental health differences between young adults with and without same-sex contact: A simultaneous examination of underlying mechanisms. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(4), 391–407.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fish, J.N. (2022). Application: Life Course Theory: Implications for Sexual Minority Youth Research and Practice. In: Adamsons, K., Few-Demo, A.L., Proulx, C., Roy, K. (eds) Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methodologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92002-9_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92002-9_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-92001-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-92002-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)