8.O. Workshop: Developmental assets and resilience in gender minority youth: Towards a balanced research agenda

Abstract Since the late 1990s, health inequalities among sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth have been increasingly recognised and investigated. However, most studies have been conducted in North America, while the research landscape in Europe is bleak. Gender minority (e.g. transgender, non-binary, genderqueer and genderfluid) youth receive even less attention than their sexual minority peers (e.g. those identifying as lesbian, gay and bisexual). A growing number of researchers recognise that the studies so far have concentrated on the disproportionate burden SGM youth face across various health outcomes. This maintains a discourse depicting SGM young people as ‘victims' and ‘at risk'. This individualistic approach is problematic because it often fails to consider macro-level determinants of these health inequalities, including societal attitudes towards SGM individuals; processes of structural stigma; lack of visibility and positive role models; and e rasure of SGM identities.There is evidence that many SGM youth live happy and balanced lives and have developed resilience in face of adversities. There are developmental assets and positive features associated with being an SGM young person, for instance ‘coming out growth' and a sense of authent icity; support from family and peers; sense of belonging and connectedness to LGBTI+ communities; and civic engagement and community work. We argue that future research should consider these and other developmental assets ...
Source: The European Journal of Public Health - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research