LGBTQ + and ally youths’ school athletics perspectives: a mixed-method analysis

Abstract

Authors employed a convergent mixed method study focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youths’ and allies’ (ages 13–18; n = 71) experiences in school athletics (e.g., physical education, after-school sports). Participants reported that they feel unsafe in school athletic contexts due to experiences of discrimination from their peers and inaction from athletic staff. Participants discussed a proclivity toward individual sports as opposed to team sports and also preferred to engage in physical activity outside of the school context. Analyses of mean differences highlight the marginalization that LGBTQ + youth and allies experience. School-based implications and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords:

• LGBTQ
• youth
• school
• physical activity
• athletics
• mixed methods

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Robin McHaelen and their community partners for helping with coordination and recruitment efforts coordination and recruitment. The authors thank Robert Santiago, M.Ed. for his assistance with participant recruitment and data collection. The authors thank Ashley Ocana, M.Ed. for her assistance with quantitative data analyses.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by The Professional Grant awarded by the Association for Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALGBTIC) of the American Counseling Association (ACA). This research was also supported by the Center for School Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation (CSCORE) of The College of Education at The University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Notes on contributors

Scott B. Greenspan

Scott B. Greenspan, M.S. is a Doctoral Candidate in the School Psychology program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research and clinical interests include school-wide wellness promotion with an emphasis on mental health and physical activity, school-based supports for LGBTQ youth, and public health approaches to school-based assessment and intervention. Scott is a member of the LGBTQI2-S Committee of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

Catherine Griffith

Catherine Griffith, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the School Counselor Education program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and is the Associate Director for the Ronald H. Fredrickson Center for School Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation (CSCORE). Her primary interests include the development of affirming interventions with LGBTQ youth and the overall contribution of intervention research in school-based settings. Currently, she serves on the review board for the flagship journal Professional School Counseling (PSC), and is a member of the Research Committee for the Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALGBTIC).

Cassidy R. Hayes

Cassidy R. Hayes, M.P.H. received her Master of Public Health degree in Community Health Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Hayes is a public health practitioner with a background in health promotion, program development, and community-based participatory research. Her research and practice interests have focused on addressing social and physical determinants of health to promote well-being among culturally-diverse populations. Hayes currently oversees sexual and reproductive health programming at an urban community health center.

Erin F. Murtagh

Erin F. Murtagh, M.S. received her Master of Mental Health Counseling at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Murtagh has experience as a clinician working with children, adolescents and families in an outpatient setting as well as providing individual and group counseling to adults in a day treatment setting. Her research and clinical interests include, but are not limited to, the role of play and physical activity in mental health.