Just Released: Report Offers New Public Health Approach to Serve the LGBTQI2-S Population
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The following definitions illustrate the commonalities and differences between the LGBTQI2-S population:
Bisexual – a man or woman who is physically, emotionally, and mentally attracted to both genders. Transgender – a person whose self-identity as male or female differs from their anatomical sex determination at birth. Questioning – a person, often an adolescent, who questions his or her sexual orientation or gender identity and does not necessarily identify as definitively gay, for example. Intersex – a person born with an indeterminate sexual anatomy or developmental hormone pattern that is neither male or female. The conditions that cause these variations are sometimes grouped under the terms “intersex” or “DSD” (Differences of Sex Development). Two-Spirit – a contemporary term used to describe North American Aboriginal People who possess the sacred gifts of the female-male spirit, which exist in harmony with those of female and male. Two-spirit people were respected, contributing members of traditional Aboriginal societies. Today, Aboriginal people who are two-spirit may also identify as LGBT. The term is not universally accepted among Native communities and nations; some also use terms from their own nations. Transitioning – often defined as the process of ceasing to live in one gender role and starting to live in another, undertaken by transgender and transsexual people. Many people also use the term to refer to the entire transgender/transsexual process (from living 24/7 in the beginning gender role to after sexual reassignment surgery) (Lambda Legal, 2006). |
Families with a parent, child, or youth who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, two-spirit (LGBTQI2-S) or transitioning navigate varying levels of acceptance and support when accessing and utilizing needed services within the mental health system. A new monograph offers a public health approach for communities to meet the needs of these families.
Asset-Based Approaches for LGBTQI2-S Youth and Families in Systems of Care presents a description of the research literature related to youth and families who are LGBTQI2-S. It also discusses a conceptual model of cultural competence to develop programs to serve the LGBTQI2-S population, and provides recommendations for next steps in a research agenda to develop an inclusive and asset-based system of care to meet the needs of youth and families who are LGBTQI2-S.
"All of the assets-based approaches presented in this monograph can be
structured within a public health approach that is concerned with the health of all people, including their relationship to the physical, psychological, cultural, and social environments in which people live, work and go to school," said Peter Gamache, Research Faculty & PhD student at the College of Behavioral & Community Sciences.
Sections in the monograph examine the predominant focal points in the research literature concerning LGBTQI2-S inquiry: HIV/AIDS, homelessness, alcohol & substance abuse, and suicide.
"It is our hope that additional research can be planned to look at the impact of positive development programs; stigma reduction strategies; positive role models and adult connections; and supportive family settings," added Gamache. "We especially need to better understand how peer-to-peer support organizations reduce stigma, social withdrawal and isolation."
For additional information, contact Peter Gamache at 913-974-8566 or PGamache@fmhi.usf.edu.
The Department of Child and Family Studies (CFS) at the USF College of Behavioral & Community Sciences is committed to improving the well-being of individuals, children, and families within communities across the country through promoting respect, inclusion, development, achievement, mental health, and an optimum quality of life.