Testing a Model of School-Based Stressors, Coping Responses, and Academic Self-Concept for Same-Sex Attracted Youth

• In Event: Advances in Stress and Coping in Education

Abstract

Research has shown that the school-based experiences of same-sex attracted (SSA) youth are often fraught with verbal harassment and marginalization. This study examined SSA students’ perceptions of their school climate toward same-sex attraction and their school-based environmental stresses and supports, using Margaret Spencer’s PVEST model. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between stressors, coping mechanisms, and academic identity formation. SSA students’ connection to teachers and their school environment had the strongest total impact on their academic self-concept and motivation to learn. Of key import was the clear indirect impact of SSA students’ perceptions of their school climate on both of these important academic outcomes, through their connection to both their school community and general school environment.

Author

• Jacqueline Ullman, University of Western Sydney