Abstract
Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) aspire to empower youth to address multiple systems of oppression, including those affecting transgender and racial/ethnic minority youth, yet there is little indication of factors contributing to youths' self-efficacy to do so. We examined individual and group factors predicting self-efficacy to address transgender and racial issues among 295 youth in 33 high school GSAs. Multilevel results indicated that level of GSA engagement, individual and collective involvement in transgender- and race-specific discussions, and in some cases intergroup friendships were associated with each form of self-efficacy. The association between GSA engagement and transgender self-efficacy was stronger for youth in GSAs with greater collective transgender-specific discussions. Associations with racial self-efficacy differed based on youths' race/ethnicity. Continued research needs to identify how GSAs and similar youth programs promote self-efficacy to address diversity issues.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 54-63 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | School Psychology Quarterly |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- Diversity issues
- Gay-straight alliance
- Peer discussions
- Self-efficacy
- Youth programs
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Developmental and Educational Psychology