Professional Documents
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FAP Family Acceptance JCAPN
FAP Family Acceptance JCAPN
Caitlin Ryan, PhD, ACSW, Stephen T. Russell, PhD, David Huebner, PhD, MPH, Rafael Diaz, PhD, MSW,
and Jorge Sanchez, BA
ISSUE: The role of family acceptance as a Caitlin Ryan, PhD, ACSW, is Director, Family
Acceptance Project and Distinguished Adjunct Professor,
protective factor for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and Marian Wright Edelman Institute, San Francisco State
transgender (LGBT) adolescents and young University; Stephen T. Russell, PhD, is Fitch Nesbitt
adults has not been established. Endowed Chair and Director, Frances McClelland
Institute, University of Arizona; David Huebner, PhD,
METHODS: A quantitative measure with items MPH, is Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of
derived from prior qualitative work Utah; Rafael Diaz, PhD, MSW, is Professor of Ethnic
Studies, San Francisco State University; Jorge Sanchez,
retrospectively assessed family accepting BA, is Project Coordinator, Family Acceptance Project,
behaviors in response to LGBT adolescents’ San Francisco State University, USA.
sexual orientation and gender expression and
their relationship to mental health, substance E xtensive research has focused on the nurturing and pro-
tective role of families, in general, and connections to family
abuse, and sexual risk in young adults have been shown to be protective against major health risk
(N = 245). behaviors (e.g., Resnick et al., 1997). Although family rela-
tionships are understood to be a primary context for adoles-
FINDINGS: Family acceptance predicts greater cent development, only a small number of studies have
self-esteem, social support, and general health focused on the role of parent–adolescent relationships for
lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth and young adults.
status; it also protects against depression, Literature addressing the family relationships for transgen-
substance abuse, and suicidal ideation and der adolescents and young people is miniscule. Given the
crucial role of parents in promoting adolescent well-being, it
behaviors. is surprising that so little attention has focused on the parent-
CONCLUSIONS: Family acceptance of LGBT ing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adoles-
cents. Most existing research has focused on negativity in the
adolescents is associated with positive young relationships between LGB youth and their parents; no
known research has considered the possible developmental
adult mental and physical health. Interventions benefits of family acceptance and supportive behaviors
that promote parental and caregiver acceptance for LGBT youth. One study has assessed the relationship
between LGB young adults’ perceived family support
of LGBT adolescents are needed to reduce health (e.g., general closeness, warmth, and enjoying time together)
disparities. and depression, substance use, and suicidality (Needham &
Austin, 2010).
Search terms: Gender identity, homosexuality, The lack of literature on family support is particularly
LGBT adolescent, protective factors, sexual surprising because LGB youth and adults (Cochran, Sullivan,
& Mays, 2003; D’Augelli, 2002; Meyer, 2003) and youth with
orientation, transgender same-gender attractions (Russell & Joyner, 2001) are known
to be at risk for compromised physical and emotional health.
doi: 10.1111/j.1744-6171.2010.00246.x Research over the past decade has begun to trace the origins
© 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. of health disparities associated with sexual identity; these
studies have focused largely on the role of victimization and
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, Volume 23, negative peer relationships during adolescence and asso-
Number 4, pp. 205–213 ciated health risks in adolescence and young adulthood
(Diamond & Lucas, 2004; Lasser & Tharinger, 2003; Russell, This article presents findings related to family acceptance
2005; Russell, Seif, & Truong, 2001; Ryan & Rivers, 2003; van from the Family Acceptance Project (FAP), a research and
Wormer & McKinney, 2003). intervention initiative to study the influence of family reac-
Studies show that LGB adolescents’ relationships with tions on the health and mental health of LGBT adolescents
their parents are often challenged, particularly around and young adults. To our knowledge, no prior studies have
the time of disclosure of sexual identity or “coming out” examined the relationship between specific family reactions
(D’Augelli, Grossman, & Starks, 2005; Patterson, 2000; to their children’s sexual orientation and gender expression
Savin-Williams, 1998a, 1998b; Savin-Williams & Dubé, 1998; with health and mental health status in emerging adulthood.
Tharinger & Wells, 2000) or when parents learn that their
children are LGBT. Researchers in one study (Rosario, Methods
Schrimshaw, & Hunter, 2009) examined substance use
among LGB youth and asked youth whether they perceived Sampling and Procedures
reactions to their LGB identity from a range of people
(including family members, coaches, teachers, therapists, This study used a participatory research approach that
neighbors, and friends) to be accepting, neutral, or rejecting. was advised at all stages by individuals who will use and
The number of perceived rejecting reactions were reported to apply the findings—LGBT adolescents, young adults, and
predict substance use; although accepting reactions did not families—as well as health and mental health providers,
directly reduce substance use, such reactions buffered the teachers, social workers, and advocates. Providers, youth,
link between rejections and substance use. and family members provided guidance on all aspects of the
Another recent study assessed the relationship between research, including methods, recruitment, instrumentation,
family rejection in adolescence and the health of LGB young analysis, coding, materials development, and dissemination
adults (Ryan, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2009). That study and application of findings. This type of participatory
showed clear associations between parental rejecting behav- research has been shown to increase the representativeness
iors during adolescence and the use of illegal drugs, depres- and cultural competence of sampling and research strategies
sion, attempted suicide, and sexual health risk by LGB young (Viswanathan et al., 2004).
adults. Prior research clearly points to the role of family rejec- We recruited a sample of 245 LGBT Latino and non-Latino
tion in predicting health and mental health problems among white young adults from 249 LGBT venues within a 100-mile
LGB adolescents and adults, yet at the same time, while it is radius of our office. Half of the sites were community, social,
known that initial parental reactions to the disclosure of LGB and recreational agencies and organizations that serve LGBT
identity may be negative—sometimes including ejection from young adults, and half were from clubs and bars serving this
the home—research has also shown that after parents become group. Bilingual recruiters (English and Spanish) conducted
sensitized to the needs and well-being of their LGB children, venue-based recruitment from bars and clubs and contacted
many family relationships improve (D’Augelli et al., 2005). program directors at each agency to access all young adults
Reports about researchers who study family reactions to who use their services.
their children’s LGBT identity indicate that parental accep- Preliminary screening procedures were used to select par-
tance and rejection are different constructs (e.g., Perrin et al., ticipants who matched the study criteria. Inclusion criteria
2004); thus, accepting and rejecting behaviors can co-occur as were age (21–25), self-identified ethnicity (non-Latino white,
families adjust to learning about their child’s LGBT identity. Latino, or Latino mixed), self-identification as LGBT, homo-
Nevertheless, the focus of prior research has been largely sexual, or nonheterosexual (e.g., queer) during adolescence,
on compromised parent–adolescent relationships for LGB knowledge of their LGBT identity by at least one parent or
young people. Yet given the changes in public visibility and guardian during adolescence, and having lived with at least
attitudes about LGBT people and issues over the course of one parent or guardian during adolescence at least part of the
past decades (Savin-Williams, 2005), some families react to time. The survey was available in computer-assisted and
learning about their child’s LGBT identity with acceptance pencil and paper formats. The study protocol was approved
(Ryan, 2009a). by the university’s IRB.
Further, given the links between parental rejection and
negative health outcomes (Ryan et al., 2009), we expect that Measures
affirmation or acceptance of LGBT adolescents will be asso-
ciated with positive adjustment and decreased mental health Family Acceptance
and behavioral health risks in young adulthood: higher self- The measure of family acceptance was developed based
esteem, increased social support, and better general health on individual in-depth interviews of 2–4 hr each with 53
status, along with decreased depression, substance abuse, socioeconomically diverse Latino and non-Latino white
sexual risk behavior, suicidal ideation, and behaviors. self-identified LGBT adolescents and their families in urban,
proportions of the sample in each of the family acceptance lies reported low religiosity compared with the high religi-
categories (differences tested with chi-square). Finally, we osity among low accepting families. Finally, we find evidence
use ordinary least squares and logistic regression analyses of a link between social class and family acceptance such that
to test the degree to which family acceptance predicts highly accepting families had higher parental occupational
young adult health outcomes, controlling for background status compared with those that scored low on acceptance
characteristics. (statistical analyses available from authors on request).
Associations between young adult health and the three
Results levels of family acceptance are presented in Table 1. There are
clear links between family acceptance in adolescence and
Scores on family acceptance range from lowest to highest health status in young adulthood. Young adults who reported
possible: 0–55. The average score is 23.9, with a standard high levels of family acceptance scored higher on all three
deviation of 15.2. The distribution is remarkably flat (the measures of positive adjustment and health: self-esteem,
skewness is 0.25 and Kurtosis is -0.98): The participants in social support, and general health. For the measures of nega-
this study included a wide range of family accepting experi- tive health outcomes, young adults who reported low levels
ences during adolescence. of family acceptance had scores that were significantly worse
The sample included roughly equal numbers of young for depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation and
adults who self-identified as male and female; 9% of the attempts. Half as many participants from highly accepting
sample identified as transgender. Seventy percent identified families reported suicidal thoughts in the past 6 months com-
as gay or lesbian (42% gay; 28% lesbian), 13% identified as pared with those who reported low acceptance (18.5% versus
bisexual, and 17% reported an alternative sexual identity 38.3%). Similarly, the prevalence of suicide attempts among
(among these, 35 participants wrote in “queer”). There were participants who reported high levels of family acceptance
no statistical differences in the average levels of family accep- was nearly half (30.9% versus 56.8%) the rate of those who
tance based on sexual identity (gay/lesbian, bisexual, versus reported family acceptance. Sexual risk behavior was the
other sexual orientation), gender (male versus female), or only young adult health indicator for which there was no
transgender identity. strong association with family acceptance in adolescence; this
The sample was evenly divided between Latino and non- outcome was not examined in subsequent analyses.
Latino white participants; 19% were born outside the United The final analyses examined the degree to which associa-
States. Whites reported higher average levels of family accep- tions between family acceptance and young adult well-being
tance. Immigrant status was strongly associated with family were independent of the background characteristics of study
acceptance: Those born in the United States reported higher participants. Regression results are presented in Table 2.
family acceptance compared with immigrants. Childhood For all health outcomes, the link between family acceptance
religious affiliation was linked to family acceptance; partici- and young adult health is present regardless of background
pants who reported a childhood religious affiliation reported characteristics. Table 2 shows that, consistent with prior
lower family acceptance compared with those with no reli- research on gay and lesbian youth and young adults, and in
gious affiliation in childhood. Childhood family religiosity contrast to studies of heterosexual women and men, females
was also linked to family acceptance; highly accepting fami- reported higher self-esteem and social support and lower
Between-group
Outcome variable Family acceptance categories difference
+p < .10; *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.
Table 3. Family Acceptance and Young Adult Health Outcomes Controlling for Background Characteristics. Logistic
Regression, Odds Ratios (95% Confidence Interval)
+p < .10; *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.
substance abuse. Transgender respondents reported lower gious affiliation is positively linked to social support in young
social support and general health; however, there were no adulthood after accounting for family acceptance. Religious
differences in their reports of self-esteem, depression, and affiliation in adolescence is known to be a factor that promotes
substance abuse. Bisexuals reported slightly better general well-being; these results indicate that this association is con-
health and less depression. White respondents reported sistent for LGBT young adults only after differences between
lower self-esteem than Latinos. Family socioeconomic status low and high family acceptance are taken into account.
was associated with general health scores; it was also associ- Logistic regression results for the two dichotomous health
ated with higher social support and less depression. outcomes (suicidal ideation and attempts) are presented in
It is noteworthy that family religious affiliation, although Table 3; results are interpreted as odds ratios, for which a
linked to lower family acceptance, was positively associated number greater than one is interpreted as higher odds of the
with young adult social support. Follow-up analyses showed risk outcome, and a number lower than one represents lower
that the association between childhood religious affiliation odds. Table 3 shows that family acceptance is associated with
and social support was not significant; thus, childhood reli- reduced odds of suicidal ideation and attempts. The odds
ratios are deceptively small (suicidal thoughts: 0.98; suicide The lasting influence of accepting family comments, atti-
attempts: 0.97) given the 50-point range of the measure of tudes, behaviors, and interactions related to the adolescent’s
family acceptance. To illustrate this point, we calculated the LGBT identity clearly applies to personal emotional and
odds ratios for suicidal ideation and attempts for those who physical states. It may be that intimate and sexual relation-
report low or no family acceptance compared with medium ships are more strongly influenced by proximal interpersonal
or high. Participants who had low family acceptance as ado- factors such as peer relations or characteristics of intimate
lescents were more than three times as likely to report both relationships. These findings deserve further exploration in
suicidal ideation and suicide attempts compared with those future research.
who reported high levels of family acceptance. Consistent Third, our results show that the influence of family accep-
with the results for depression, females are less likely than tance persists, even after control for background characteris-
males to report suicidal ideation or attempts. Finally, for tics. Further, we find associations between background
suicide attempts, family socioeconomic status was protective, characteristics and young adult mental health and physical
but identifying as “queer” rather than as lesbian, gay, or health that warrant further investigation. Independent
bisexual was a strong risk factor. of levels of family acceptance, transgender young adults
reported lower social support and general health. While
Discussion these specific findings have not been previously reported to
our knowledge, they are consistent with the limited existing
Until now, most thinking about LGBT adolescents and research that identifies transgender adolescents as a group at
families has focused on negative parent–adolescent relation- high risk for compromised health (Garofalo, Deleon, Osmer,
ships or family rejection; our study is unique in pointing Doll, & Harper, 2006). Young adults who did not ascribe to
out the lasting, dramatically protective influence of specific “gay,” “lesbian,” or “bisexual” identities (those who self-
family accepting behaviors related to an adolescent’s LGBT identified as “queer”) were more than twice as likely to
identity on the health of LGBT young adults. These results report lifetime suicide attempts but not recent suicidal
show clear associations even after accounting for individual thoughts. Our results indicate that although they were not
and background characteristics. at risk in young adulthood, they reported higher rates of
First, based on a sample of self-identified LGBT young earlier suicide attempts. These may be adolescents who most
adults, our results indicate that family acceptance did not struggle to find an authentic, personal sexual identity or who
vary based on gender, sexual identity, or transgender iden- do not identify with “gay” and “lesbian” stereotypes, per-
tity. Specifically, it does not appear that families are more ceptions, or expectations. A lack of fit or identification with
accepting of female than male LGBT adolescents, of bisexual the LGB community may be an important factor in their
than gay/lesbian adolescents, or of transgender compared earlier suicide attempts. We know of no existing research that
with nontransgender adolescents. However, Latino, immi- examines the implications for mental health of alternative
grant, religious, and low-socioeconomic status families identities among sexual minority adolescents.
appear to be less accepting, on average, of LGBT adolescents. In the context of these novel findings, there are several
It appears that it is not the sexual orientation or gender iden- limitations to our study. LGBT individuals are a hidden popu-
tity of the adolescents themselves but the characteristics of lation; thus, we cannot claim that this sample is representative
their families (their ethnicity, immigration and occupation of the general population of LGBT individuals. However, in
status, and religious affiliation) that seem to make a differ- order to maximize the broadest inclusion in our sample, we
ence in distinguishing between those that score high versus mapped the universe of social, recreational and service orga-
low on acceptance of their LGBT children. This stands in nizations, bars, and clubs that serve LGBT young adults
contrast to family rejection, which has been shown to be within 100 miles of our office. We contacted each community
higher among males and Latinos (Ryan et al., 2009). organization to notify each member or participant so all
Second, we find that family acceptance in adolescence is would have an equal chance of participating in our study; and
associated with young adult positive health outcomes (self- we conducted venue-based recruitment at bars and clubs
esteem, social support, and general health) and is protective within our recruitment area. In addition, the study focused on
for negative health outcomes (depression, substance abuse, LGBT non-Latino white and Latino young adults, the two
and suicidal ideation and attempts). The only exception to the largest ethnic groups in California. The study did not include
pattern was for sexual risk behavior during the past 6 months, persons from other ethnic groups because of funding con-
for which family acceptance had no clear association. A prior straints. Subsequent research should include greater ethnic
study has shown a link between family LGBT rejection and diversity to assess potential cultural differences in family
sexual risk behaviors with this sample (Ryan et al., 2009), reactions to their children’s LGBT identity. Finally, the study is
with parental rejection of their LGBT adolescent being asso- retrospective; young adults provided information about expe-
ciated with greater sexual health risk in young adulthood. riences that happened during their teenage years which
Acceptance Project (see Ryan, 2009b; Ryan et al., 2009) on Parents and many providers have limited information
how educating families of LGBT youth can help them about sexual orientation and gender identity development
understand the serious negative health impact of family in children and adolescents. Many parents see identifying as
rejection on the adolescent’s health and mental health gay during childhood and adolescence as a “phase” or a
(including depression, suicide, illegal drug use, and risk reaction to outside influences. Others may see gender non-
for HIV). With the youth’s consent and participation, conforming behavior, especially in boys, as willful and dis-
contact the family to provide education, family counseling, obedient. Their children experience parental denial and
and support. minimization of their identity as rejection that can negatively
impact their relationship. Nurses can help parents and
Support for Youth and Family caregivers understand that sexual orientation and gender
identity development are normative aspects of child devel-
Some adolescents can use the support of their health pro- opment. They can work with young people and families to
fessional to come out to parents and caregivers. Nurses can provide counseling, family therapy, and access to family peer
offer to help the youth disclose their sexual orientation or support to help decrease family conflict and educate families
gender identity to the parent/caregiver. This includes pro- about rejecting behaviors that are associated with signifi-
viding education on sexual orientation and gender identity, cantly elevated risk for their LGBT children.
guidance to help parents and foster parents understand how
to support their LGBT child, and counseling to help families Strengths-Based Approach
reconcile values and beliefs that homosexuality is wrong
with their love for their LGBT child. While it is important to The increased focus on strengths in nursing (e.g., Feeley &
offer this support, it is essential to respect the youth’s pref- Gottlieb, 2000) provides an important framework for rein-
erences and decisions about where, how, and when they forcing supportive responses among families who seek
choose to disclose their LGBT identity to parents, caregivers, to affirm their LGBT children and helping other families
and other family members. For LGBT youth who report who see their children’s LGBT identity as deficit based. A
family rejection and are fearful of family involvement, indi- strengths-based approach helps families more readily iden-
vidual counseling can help the adolescent deal with rejection, tify with their competencies, skills, and resources—all of
and referral to LGBT youth programs, including school which can help motivate and empower parents, caregivers,
diversity clubs, can provide access to peer support and posi- and other family members to adopt supportive behaviors
tive LGBT adult role models. identified in this research that can help decrease their LGBT
children’s risk and promote their well-being.
Advocacy and Professional Education Nursing has helped define the field of family-oriented
care, and nurses work with families in all settings. However,
Nurses can advocate in their agencies and institutions for surprisingly little literature in nursing journals has focused
the importance of providing family-related care for LGBT on care related to families of LGBT patients. These findings
adolescents. This includes serving LGBT youth in the context on the critical role of parents and caregivers in promoting
of their family (typically LGBT adolescents are served alone, the well-being and decreasing risk of their LGBT children
as if they were adults, and few providers routinely ask about warrant further investigation, intervention research, and
family reactions to the youth’s LGBT identity, gender expres- specific training in nursing education, particularly for psy-
sion, and behavior). chiatric nurses who work with patients whose families are
struggling to adjust to their child’s LGBT identity.
Early Intervention
Acknowledgments. The authors gratefully acknowledge
Nurses (particularly in school settings) can identify chil- the support of our funder, The California Endowment, and
dren and adolescents in need of support, including those the contribution of our community advisory groups and the
who are gender variant, who may be perceived to be gay and many adolescents, families, and young adults who shared
are harassed by peers, and who come out at younger ages their lives and experiences with us. We also thank Theresa
and may be more vulnerable to negative reactions from Betancourt for her research support, Russell Toomey for his
family and peers. Researchers have observed that the average assistance with manuscript preparation, and Erica Monaste-
age of sexual attraction is about age 10 for heterosexual and rio, RNC, MN, FNP, for her ongoing contributions and
homosexually identified youth (McClintock & Herdt, 1996), insightful comments.
and this finding has been reported in subsequent studies of
LGB adolescents (D’Augelli & Hershberger, 1993; Herdt & Author contact: [email protected], with a copy to the Editor:
Boxer, 1993; Rosario et al., 1996). [email protected]