More bullying of LGBTQ + students in politically conservative districts

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According to a new study, students who identify as LGBTQ + in Washington state school districts with conservative voting records reported experiencing more bullying than their peers in more politically liberal areas.

For study in the journal Analysis of social and public policy issues, researchers explored relationships between school district voting records in the 2016 presidential election, school bullying experiences, and LGBTQ + mental health outcomes in the state.

The study shows that LGBTQ + students have a higher risk of psychological distress and suicide as a result of school bullying, particularly in who voted for former President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Students in Conservative voting districts also reported that their teachers were less likely to intervene in school bullying cases than students who responded from constituencies more liberals.

“To my knowledge, no one has really looked at this connection between the political attitudes of a school district and the experiences of LGBTQ + students in schools,” said Paul Kwon, a professor of psychology at Washington State University and co-author of the study. “This project highlights an inequality that is not talked about much and shows the need for more explicit and inclusive anti-harassment legislation and policies that help mitigate risks for LGBTQ + youth regardless of the district’s political attitudes.” .

The work of Kwon and his colleagues supports previous research showing that anti-LGBTQ + prejudices are constantly related to political ideology and beliefs. For the current study, they analyzed the responses of nearly 50,000 students ages 8 to 12 to the 2018 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey. The survey asks students about various factors, including identity. sexual and gender harassment, and whether or not teachers intervened in cases of harassment. In total, 20% or about 10,000 students in the survey identified themselves as LGBTQ +.

According to the analysis, when teachers intervened “almost always” in cases of harassment, LGBTQ + students reported experiencing harassment rates almost identical to non-LGBTQ + students.

When the intervention did not occur, LGBTQ + youth experienced more harassment and subsequently more psychological distress and suicide.

“This was especially common in more conservative school districts where LGBTQ + youth report less Kwon said “more than 35% of the young people in our study are students from a conservative school district, which may put them at greater risk of bullying experiences and more . “

Although every school district in Washington has a mandate to enact that, at a minimum, complies with legislation prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and harassment, Kwon and colleagues suggest that individual school boards, regardless of political orientation, implement policies that go beyond minimum protections for LGBTQ + youth.

For example, researchers suggest that school policy should include explicit parameters for teacher training and education regarding LGBTQ + bullying, as well as measures for teachers and administrators to intervene after experiences of bullying. LGBTQ + harassment. In addition, they suggest that all school websites explicitly describe anti-bullying policies in relation to LGBTQ + youth through specific examples.

“We also encourage educators to discuss bullying policy with students and families at the beginning of each school year, while highlighting LGBTQ + identities, particularly in conservative districts,” Kwon said. “After all, students have little choice in the school they attend, they have almost no options in the school district they belong to, and they can’t vote until they’re 18. So they’re subject to the environment of the school and a wider culture of the chosen for them “.


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More information:
Steven Hobaica et al, Bullying in schools and LGBTQ + youth mental health: relationships with the vote for Trump, Analysis of social and public policy issues (2021). DOI: 10.1111 / asap.12258

Citation: More harassment of LGBTQ + students in politically conservative districts (2021, July 19) recovered on July 19, 2021 at https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-bullying-lgbtq-students-politically-districts .html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair treatment for the purposes of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. Content is provided for informational purposes only.





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