(An item from the ISHN Member information service)  Several studies have shown that LGBT senior high school students experience higher rates of homelessness than their heterosexual peers. Moreover, LGBQ high school students are more likely to stay in riskier locations (eg, with a stranger) and less likely to stay in a shelter. Some studies show that 40% of homeless youth are LGBT (http://usich.gov/issue/lgbt_youth/lgbtq_youth_homelessness_in_focus/). This is likely to occur when the young person discloses their orientation and family members are not supportive, or even hostile. An article in the August 2015 Issue of Journal of School Health tested whether these trends also apply to middle school students. "Using representative data, we examined sexual identity and homelessness among Los Angeles Unified School District middle school students. Nearly 10% of middle school students identified as LGBQ and 23.5% experienced at least 1 night of homelessness during the previous year. Contrary to high school data, LGBQ students did not experience higher rates of homelessness overall. However, when limiting the sample to students who had experienced homelessness, LGBQ students were more than 5 times as likely as heterosexual students to have stayed in a public place and 63% as likely to have stayed in a shelter." the authors conclude that "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning students are more likely to experience public homelessness. Schools must implement homelessness surveillance systems to assist in identifying early episodes of homelessness, thereby reducing the likelihood of poor physical and mental health outcomes associated with chronic homelessness. Read more>>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service)  We have noted items in this blog that report on teacher attitudes towards LGBT students and sexual orientation. This item reports on the apparently negligible impact of post-secondary training programs for psychologists, social workers and nurses. An article in Issue #6, 2015 of Journal of Homosexuality reports on the attitudes of healping professionals in Crete. "This study investigated the attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among social work, psychology, medical, and nursing students in Crete, Greece, using Herek’s ATLG scale. No respondents held completely heterosexist attitudes; only 1.6% held completely non-heterosexist attitudes. The 44.96 total ATLG score indicates a slightly positive attitude toward lesbians and gay men. Psychology students scored higher than all others on positive attitudes, followed by social work students, medical students, and nursing students. Gender, having lesbian or gay acquaintances or friends, and religiosity were significant factors influencing students’ attitudes, while no impact on attitudes due to the effects of higher education could be discerned." Read more>>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Several articles in the Supplementary July 2013 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health discuss the relationship between bullying, cyber bullying and adolescent suicide. One article notes that suicide does  not affect only the victims: "  Suicidal thinking or a suicide attempt was reported by 22% of perpetrators only, 29% of victims only, and 38% of bully-victims". Another article notes that cyber-bullying may be more harmful than other bullying.A third article reports that it is very important to specifically address homophobic bullying in anti-bullying policies, noting that " Lesbian and gay youths living in counties with fewer school districts with inclusive anti-bullying policies were 2.25 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–4.49) more likely to have attempted suicide in the past year compared with those living in counties where more districts had these policies". Other articles emphasized that bystanders and bullies themselves were prone to suicide as well as the victims. Read More>>

(An item from ISHN Member information service) Intervention strategies, such as educational policies, programs, and a supportive environment that improve the social climate for LGBT students in secondary schools and universities are discussed in an article in Issue #4, 2012 of the Jpurnal of LGBT Youth. The authors note that "no studies have compiled and synthesized existing research to show the exclusively positive effect safe school interventions and supportive environments have on LGBT youth. This article presents a summary of the various intervention strategies, examines the strengths and limitations of the existing body of knowledge, and makes recommendations for future research". Read more.