Examining campus support systems for LGBQ+ college students’ mental health and well-being

Abstract

In this study, we explore LGBQ+ college students’ experiences related to mental health and wellbeing, using the Proud & Thriving Framework. Our research utilizes a large-scale, multi-institutional, quantitative and qualitative data set that includes a variety of institutional types and geographic locations across the United States. We use a series of OLS regression analyses and descriptive analyses to explore LGBQ+ students’ difficulties, support networks, knowledge about institution-provided supports, and student-suggested ways that their institution has supported their mental health and well-being. We find that large portions of LGBQ+ students do not know how to get help with various difficulties and that students within the LGBQ+ community had differing relationships with risks and supports depending on their specific LGBQ+ identity such as asexual students struggling less with workload-related issues and pansexual students struggling more with health-related issues than their LGBQ+ peers. We conclude with suggestions for campus staff, faculty, and higher education researchers on tangible ways that they can work to improve campus environments and experiences for LGBQ+ college students.

Keywords:

• LGBQ+
• mental health
• well-being
• college students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability Statement

Due to the nature of the research, due to privacy restrictions, supporting data is not available.

Notes

1 Although we chose to focus solely on sexual orientation for the purposes of this paper, we also recognize that LGBQ+ and transgender and nonbinary communities often share similar experiences of discrimination and harassment as they are commonly perceived not as LGBQ+ or transgender, but as members of the LGBTQ+ community, broadly speaking. Relatedly, transgender and nonbinary students face unique challenges related to cisgenderism, such as access to gender-inclusive housing and bathrooms. For that reason, research should continue to explore both the similarities and differences between the impacts of heterosexism and cisgenderism on students.

2 The exact wording of the corresponding survey items can be found on the NSSE website: https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/survey-instruments/us-english.html

3 In our conceptualization of ‘health’ as a risk factor, we acknowledge that when one’s physical or mental health is negatively impacted, a person’s overall well-being can be impacted as a result. This conceptualization also works in alignment with our understanding of well-being as a holistic phenomenon.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Steven Feldman

Steven Feldman is a PhD student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program at Indiana University Bloomington where they also work as a Project Associate in the Center for Postsecondary Research. They previously worked in higher education in functional areas including LGBTQ Services, academic advising, and undergraduate admissions. Their research explores identity, equity, and social justice in higher education and focuses primarily on trans and queer communities in higher education, as well as Jewish identity and antisemitism.

Allison BrckaLorenz

Allison BrckaLorenz is an Associate Research Scientist at the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. She helps people use data to make improvements on their campuses, uses data to highlight the experiences of traditionally marginalized subpopulations, and provides professional development opportunities and mentoring to graduate students. Her research interests focus on climate and environments for students and faculty, teaching and learning of college students and the accompanying issues faced by faculty, the socialization of graduate students, and the experiences of small and understudied populations with a focus on LGBQ+ students and faculty.