Gay Adolescent Males’ Effective Coping with Discrimination: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

In addition to developmental stressors that all adolescents face, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth must also deal with stressors associated with anti-LGB prejudice, discrimination, and stigma. Little is known about the specific ways in which LGB youth cope with the anti-LGB incidents in their everyday lives or what might constitute “effective” coping in this context. In the current exploratory study, the authors present findings and implications based on interviews with eight gay-identified male adolescents. Eight distinct coping strategies that were viewed as successful by participants were identified. Implications for counselors and future extensions of this research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• anti-gay discrimination
• coping, gay youth
• stigma
• stressors