About this poster

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Panel information
Panel 6. Risk, Intervention, Prevention, and Action

Abstract

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Youth with marginalized social identities are affected by varied systems of oppression, including heterosexism. LGBQ+ college students are at higher risk for poor mental health compared to heterosexual college students (Fish & Pasley, 2015; Luk et al., 2018), potentially due to having lower perceived campus safety and belonging than their heterosexual peers (Wilson & Liss, 2022). Safety and campus belonging are potential environmental factors that institutions can foster. Although anti-LGBQ+ discrimination is a major stressor related to poorer outcomes, it remain unclear how anti-LGBQ+ discrimination impacts these students' safety and belonging. Therefore the present study examined whether LGBTQ+ college students feel lower safety and belonging on campus relative to their non-LGBTQ+ peers, and whether the magnitude of these differences varies by frequency of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination (see Figure 1 for conceptual model).

Undergraduate students (N = 4059; 18.15% LGBTQ+, 81.85% non-LGBTQ+) at a large public university in the Northeastern United States in the 2022-2023 academic year completed a survey. Participants reported frequency of discrimination using the Everyday Discrimination Scale (Williams et al., 1997). Participants reported how often they experienced 10 forms of discrimination over the past year (1=never, 2=once, 3=2 or 3 times, 4=4+ times; e.g., “You have been treated with less respect than other people”; “People have acted as if they’re better than you are”). They then attributed each experience to various factors including race, gender, and LGBTQ+ status. The mean was taken across the 10 items, and the scale had good internal consistency (α = .90). Participants completed a dichotomous item regarding whether they feel safe at all times on campus. Participants rated two items regarding belonging to their campus, including one positively-worded item (I feel like I belong at [Institution]) on a scale (1=Strongly disagree, 7=Strongly agree) and one negatively-worded item (When you think about [Institution], how often, if ever, do you wonder: “Maybe I don't belong here?”) on a different scale (0=Never, 4=Always). Because items were rated on different scales, they were standardized within the sample and then averaged, with positive values indicating higher levels of belonging. Analytic models tested whether campus safety and belonging differ between LGBQ+ and non-LGBQ+ students, and the degree to which these associations differed by frequency of discrimination and attributions to anti-LGBQ+ discrimination (i.e., LGBTQ+ × Frequency of Discrimination × Anti-LGBTQ+ Attribution). We then used conditional process analysis to test whether the association between LGBTQ+ identity and lower campus belonging was mediated by lower campus safety (see Figure 1). Models then covaried for demographic factors including campus (main university campus = 0, satellite campus = 1), year (first or second year = 0, third year and beyond = 1), sex (male = 0, female = 1), and first-generation status (0 = continuing-generation, 1 = first-generation).

Results indicated that LGBTQ+ students felt lower belonging on campus, irrespective of their experiences with discrimination (D=.41, p<.001). However, discrimination impacted differences in campus safety (B=0.74, SE=0.33, p=.027): Only students who experienced more frequent discrimination that was attributable to their sexual orientation reported feeling less safe on campus. Mediation models indicated that LGBTQ+ college students, particularly those who experienced more frequent anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, reported feeling less safe on campus compared to their non-LGBTQ+ college peers, which in turn predicted a lower sense of campus belonging (ab = -0.22, SE = 0.10, 95% Confidence Interval [-0.47, -0.08]; Figure 1).

These findings suggest that improving campus safety for LGBTQ+ students may be necessary to promote students’ feelings of belonging. Institutions should continue to address campus-based discrimination as one means of promoting perceived safety. Still, LGBTQ+ students reported lower belonging regardless of discrimination. Therefore further efforts are needed to provide a more inclusive and welcoming campus environment for students.

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