Poster #188 - Youth Experiences of Adolescent Homophobia

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Sex, Gender

Integrative Statement

Existing research provides evidence that gay-related name calling has been reported among adolescents. Athanases & Comar (2008) concluded that many seventh grade students who frequently perpetrated and heard homophobic name calling believed that is was a generalized insult unspecific to LGBTQ individuals, while others in the sample saw it as a direct attack on LGBTQ individuals and a harmful slur. Additionally, though minimal, existing research has begun to examine the ways in which homophobic harassment has become present in online or Internet spaces. Rice et al. (2015) and other researchers have indicated that sexual minority youth are more likely to be victims of online discrimination (Llorent, Ortega-Ruiz, & Zych, 2016; Rice, et al., 2015; Varjas, Meyers, Kiperman, & Howard, 2013; Ybarra, Mitchell, Palmer, & Reisner, 2015). Though there is existing research that noted the presence of homophobic cyberbullying among youth, few studies have performed a qualitative analysis on recorded accounts of these homophobic online experiences amongst adolescents.
The present study examines homophobic online experiences among a subsample of adolescents in 6th-12th grade. We hypothesized that (1) more homophobic experiences will be reported by adolescent males than by adolescent females, (2) that adolescent females who report personal experiences with homophobic Internet bullying will present scenarios in which sadness or humor is expressed during recollection, (3) that adolescent males who report personal experiences with homophobic Internet bullying will present scenarios in which anger or embarrassment is expressed during recollection, and lastly (4) that adolescent females who report an impersonal homophobic related experience are more likely to express disapproval of the bullying inflicted on the victim than adolescent males.
Data were retrieved from a pre-existing longitudinal study Teen Life Online and in Schools (TLOS) which examined the influences of adolescents' online experiences among adolescents in the Midwestern US. A preliminary content and thematic analysis was conducted using data collected from 62 survey responses that described encounters of gay-related cyberbullying. Analyses demonstrated, (1) more homophobic experiences were reported by female adolescents, (2) that females most commonly expressed sadness during recollection of personal accounts, (3) that males most commonly expressed anger and annoyance during recollection of personal accounts, and (4) that females who reported an impersonal homophobic related experiences were in fact more likely to express disapproval of the bullying inflicted on the victim than adolescent males. The following results demonstrate that LGBTQ adolescent females are at high risk for experiencing both vicarious and personal gay-related bullying, while LGBTQ adolescent males are at high risk for experiencing personal gay-related bullying. The current study’s findings provide insight into how both vicarious and personal experiences of gay-related cyberbullying have differing emotional effects on adolescents—each warranting much needed further research.

Authors

• Darian White, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Presenting Author

• Fantasy Lozada, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brendesha Tynes, University of Southern California
  Non-Presenting Author