Teen, Queer, and Asian: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Plus Asian American Students' Experiences in Schools

• Published in: The Journal of school health 2021-11, Vol.91 (11), p.906-914
• Main Authors: Gorse, Michael Morgan, Bacolores, John Paino, Cheung, Jordan, De Pedro, Kris Tunac
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asian American; Asian American Students; Asian American youth; Asian Americans; Bisexuality; Bullying; Cambodians; child and adolescent health; Educational aspects; Educational Environment; Gay teenagers; Gay youth; Gays & lesbians; Grade 11; Grade 7; Grade 9; Health aspects; High School Students; Hmong people; Homosexuality; Lesbianism; LGBTQ; LGBTQ People; LGBTQ students; Mental Health; Nursing; Pediatrics; Philippino; Psychological aspects; Public schools; School environment; Sexual Identity; Sexual orientation; special populations; Student Experience; Students; Surveys; Teachers; Teenagers; Transgender persons; Victimization; Victims; White Students; Womens health
• ISSN: 0022-4391; 1746-1561
• DOI: 10.1111/josh.13077

BACKGROUND The experiences of youth with intersecting LGBTQ+ and Asian American (AA) identities have been largely unexplored. This study explored these experiences of LGBTQ+ AA California youth with mental health, school climate, and school victimization. METHODS Drawing from the 2016‐2017 California Healthy Kids Survey (N = 326,124), this study utilized secondary data analyses to examine mental health, school climate, and school victimization among students of specific AA ethnicities (eg, Cambodian, Hmong, Vietnamese) and LGBTQ+ identities. The participants in this study included 7th, 9th, and 11th graders from California public schools, with subsamples of lesbian or gay students (N = 13,291), bisexual students (N = 30,127), and transgender students (N = 7916). RESULTS The results indicated that Asian Indian, Cambodian, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, and Other Asian LGBTQ+ students experienced more negative school climate and victimization compared to their Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and white LGBTQ+ peers. For instance, 41.1% of Cambodian transgender students reported they were beaten up compared to 27.1% of white transgender students. Mental health differences between LGBTQ+ AA and LGBTQ+ white students were also found. CONCLUSIONS This study's findings can inform school administrators and teachers how to best support LGBTQ+ AA populations.