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Teacher Support Moderates Associations among Sexual Orientation Identity Outness, Victimization, and Academic Performance among LGBQ+Youth

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Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and youth with other minority sexual orientations (LGBQ+) who are more out to others about their sexual orientation identity may experience greater victimization at school based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, with negative implications for academic performance. Teacher support, however, may buffer these associations. Among a national US sample of cisgender and trans/non-binary LGBQ+ youth (n = 11,268; 66.1% White, 66.8% cisgender, Mage = 15.5 years, SDage = 1.3), latent moderated-mediation models were tested in which perceived teacher support and affirmation moderated the extent to which sexual orientation identity outness was associated with poorer reported academic performance in part through its association with greater victimization. As hypothesized, greater perceived teacher support and affirmation buffered (a) the association between sexual orientation identity outness and victimization, (b) the association between victimization and reported academic performance, and (c) the indirect association between sexual orientation identity outness and reported academic performance through victimization. These findings underscore the important protective role of supportive teachers for LGBQ+ youth in schools.

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Acknowledgements

This research uses data from the LGBTQ National Teen Study, designed by Ryan J. Watson and Rebecca M. Puhl in collaboration with the Human Rights Campaign, and supported by the Office for Vice President of Research at the University of Connecticut. The authors acknowledge the important contributions of Ellen Kahn, Gabe Murchison, and Liam Miranda in their support, conceptualization, and management related to the LGBTQ National Teen Study.

Authors’ Contributions

V.P.P. conceived of the study, conducted the analyses, and drafted the manuscript; R.J.W. participated in editing the manuscript and interpreting the findings; J.N.F. also participated in editing the manuscript and interpreting the findings. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported through funding by the National Institutes of Drug Abuse (grants R03DA046827 and K01DA047918), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Child Health and Human Development (grant P2CHD041041) awarded to the Maryland Population Research Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a cooperative agreement (grant U48DP006382), and the National Institutes of Mental Health (grant T32MH074387). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College, Campion Hall 307, 140 Commonwealth Ave, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA

    V. Paul Poteat

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, 348 Mansfield Road, U-1058, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Ryan J. Watson

  3. Department of Family Science, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, 1142 Valley Drive, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Jessica N. Fish

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  1. V. Paul Poteat
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Correspondence to V. Paul Poteat.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All study procedures were approved by the University of Connecticut IRB board, protocol H16-322.

Informed Consent

Informed assent was obtained from all youth participants included in the study. A waiver of parental consent was obtained from the IRB related to this study.

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Poteat, V.P., Watson, R.J. & Fish, J.N. Teacher Support Moderates Associations among Sexual Orientation Identity Outness, Victimization, and Academic Performance among LGBQ+Youth. J Youth Adolescence 50, 1634–1648 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01455-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01455-7

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