Parental support is crucial for LGBT children and youth. Not only as a foundation for mental health, but also suicide prevention, a unique study shows
Parental support as the key to children's psychological well-being
Acceptance of otherness can undoubtedly be taken for granted. But not every parent is ultimately capable of doing so. Many adolescents thus face rejection or rejection soon after coming out. It is no coincidence, then, that homelessness, for example, is massively prevalent among young LGBT people. Another issue that is also thematized today is the effort to "heal" LGBT children - although conversion therapy is not specifically a thematized practice in the Czech Republic, its supporters live all over the world. Thus, parental support is undeniably important for every child, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. As it turns out, however, it is for LGBT children and adolescents that it is slightly more important. This is even before they decide to be open about their orientation/identity.
How do LGBT teens see it?
So, as current research from researchers at The University of Texas at Austin points out, parental support is important for the psychological well-being of LGBT youth even before teens come out. In fact, the research does not focus on children's acceptance of otherness (i.e., the state after coming out), as many previous studies have done, but evaluates parental behavior in terms of continuously expressed support. Thus, the young LGBT people interviewed described and evaluated the form and frequency of various parental expressions - e.g. expressions of care, pride, praise, etc. In addition, the opposite behaviour was also thematised, i.e. expressions of a certain 'psychological control', where parents act as infallible arbiters and fail to communicate problems in any way.
Zdroj: Giphy
The research yields rather unique data, as it also involved uninhibited adolescents, which is more or less rare. Usually, children's participation in research requires the consent of their parents, who are also familiar with the purpose of the research (which de facto precludes the possibility of targeting children who have not yet come out). However, in the case of this research, uninvolved adolescents under the age of 18 were involved and a youth advocate worked with them to sign the informed consent.
Thus, once all formal requirements were met, these youth were also allowed to complete a self-administered questionnaire where they indicated their identity, depressive symptoms, and assessed their parents' behavior and knowledge of LGBT issues. According to the study's author, Amy McCurdy, the research then showed "that for adolescents whose parents were unaware of their LGBT identity, a combination of high psychological control and high parental social support was associated with greater depressive symptoms." However, with the right parental approach, this can also be prevented.
The mental health and well-being of LGBT teens is in the hands of their parents
Thus,the researchfindings clearly demonstrate that positive support from parents (and other caring loved ones) - as well as negative attitudes - has clear implications for the mental health and well-being of LGBT youth. According to McCurdy, then, a couple of main conclusions emerge from the research. "It has been shown that both parental support and parental control have an impact on the prediction of depressive symptoms in LGBT youth, with these aspects having the greatest impact on those LGBT youth who are not yet outed to their relatives," she explained.
In summary, McCurdy said that those adolescents who experience more social support from their parents also experience fewer depressive symptoms. Conversely, those who feel some psychological pressure or control from their parents are more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms. Simply put, open-minded parents who support and encourage their offspring without giving them reason to think they might be inferior for any reason (including sexual orientation or gender identity) will raise happy and balanced young adults. Which should undoubtedly be the goal of absolutely everyone who raises their children with love.
However, in McCurdy's words, more and closer research is needed on this issue, as the existing - and first-of-its-kind - results have already produced important findings that can be adequately addressed to further improve the lives of LGBT youth."Advances in understanding the links between parenting practices and youth mental well-being and thriving offer insight into mechanisms of risk and resilience, and ultimately support positive mental health outcomes for sexual and gender minority youth during adolescence," she concluded.
