About this session

Wednesday, 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM

Where antiracism, queer liberation, and developmental science meet: Multi-method approaches to understanding intersectional child development

In 2023 alone, more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ laws were enacted or proposed in the U.S., resulting in increased mental health risk for many LGBTQ+ youth (Trevor Project, 2023). Alongside this troubling trend, racial/ethnic minoritized youth in the U.S. reported a rise in depressive symptomology and suicidality (Sheftall et al., 2022). Now more than ever, it is urgent to understand the developmental and social contexts that bolster the wellbeing of racial/ethnic minoritized LGBTQ+ youth. In this symposium, we present four projects that leverage new methods, data, and contexts for expanding the developmental science of racial/ethnic minoritized LGBTQ+ youth. Paper 1 uses four waves of representative data from the U.S. national Youth Risk Behavior Study (YRBS) to demonstrate that racial/ethnic minoritized youth report higher prevalence of sexual minoritized identity than white youth. Paper 2 uses statewide data from California to examine relations between intersectional minority stress with mental and behavioral health among racial/ethnic minoritized transgender youth. Paper 3 leverages qualitative data to describe how gender minoritized students of color understand their school contexts as supportive, detrimental, or both. Finally, presentation 4 is a practitioner-led session presented by the mother of a transgender teen of color from Texas who will discuss how she and her family navigate racism and transphobia at the individual, family, school, and state levels. She will also comment on the translational applications of the research presented. Together, our session illuminates the importance of prioritizing racial/ethnic minorized LGBTQ+ youth in research, policy, and practice for social change.

Paper #1
Title	Recognizing racial and ethnic diversity among a growing number of queer youth
Presenting author	Allen B. Mallory, The Ohio State University, United States

Paper #2
Title	Race-based bullying, gender-based bullying, and health among transgender youth of color
Presenting author	Meg D. Bishop, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
Non-presenting author(s)	Allen B. Mallory Ohio State University United States Jessica N. Fish University of Maryland, College Park United States

Paper #3
Title	School support and stress: The experiences of trans and gender expansive youth of color
Presenting author	Robert A. Marx, San José State University, United States
Non-presenting author(s)	Frank J. Peña Graduate Student School of Social Work University of Southern California

Paper #4
Title	Parenting a Latine transgender teen in Texas: Lived experiences and implications for research
Presenting author	Rachel A. Gonzales, Human Rights Campaign Parents for Trans Equality Council, United States
View all paper details

Session chair
Meg D. Bishop, University of Maryland, College Park, United States

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