Primary Submission Category: LGBTQ+
State policy climate and mental health among sexual and gender minority youth: The mediating role of school climate and safety
Authors: Samantha Moran Meg Bishop Ryan Watson Jessica Fish
Presenting Author: Samantha Moran*
Background. Sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) are at risk for poor mental health due to structural and interpersonal stigma. The link between SGM state policy climate and SGMY mental health is well-established. Less well-known are the mechanisms through which state policy climates contribute to SGMY mental health. Such knowledge can inform policy implementation and its potential for addressing SGMY mental health inequities. The current study uses a recent national data source of SGMY to understand whether the association between state policy climate with mental health operates through proximal experiences of SGM-specific school climate and school safety.
Method. Data are from a subsample of the 2022 LGBTQ+ Teen Survey (n=3,540). The PHQ-4 assessed youth mental health symptomology (i.e., depression, ). SGM school climate was measured by the presence of a Gender/Sexuality Alliance club, SGM-inclusive sex education and history, and “out” SGM educators; school safety assessed feelings of safety in nine school contexts (e.g., classrooms, bathrooms). SGM state policy climate used the 2020 Movement Advancement Project LGBTQ policy tally, which ranks policy climates as negative, low, fair, medium, and high (i.e., positive).
Results. Using linear regression, SGM state policy climate was significantly associated with SGMY mental health (b=-.019, p=.036). Tests for mediation showed that SGM school climate and school safety jointly mediated this association (b=-.029, 95%CI [-.037,-.021], p<.001). Once accounting for mediating pathways, the relationship between state policy climate and mental health was not significant (p=.257).
Discussion. This study extends understandings of how state policies impact the daily lives and mental health of SGMY. More positive state policies are associated with better SGM school climate and more student safety, which are positively related to SGMY mental health. Implications for research and application will be discussed.