Collaborative Community-Based Research as Activism: Giving Voice and Hope to Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

SUMMARY

Psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals who work with lesbian, gay, and/or bisexual (LGB) youth are in an ideal position to engage in activism aimed at improving societal conditions for LGB youth and to assist them in their quest for compassion, understanding, and basic human rights. In this paper, the authors discuss ways in which psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals can engage in LGB youth activism through structural-level change efforts, with a specific focus on: (1) raising awareness within the academy about the issues that confront LGB youth and the need for activism, while also working to elevate the status of LGB research within these academic institutions; (2) creating safe settings in which LGB youth can be affirmed and validated when they engage in self expression; and (3) improving the capacity of local community organizations to advocate for LGB youth. The authors purport that one way to affect structural-level factors is through the development and execution of collaborative participatory research projects that engage community members and community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve LGB youth.

KEYWORDS:

• Activism
• adolescence
• bisexual
• community-based organizations
• development
• homosexuality
• gay
• lesbian
• mental health
• research
• stigma
• youth