Ethnic Differences in Family Support for Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals

Abstract

Record ID: 189

Award(s): Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship

Program Affiliation: NA

Presentation Type: Poster

Abstract: Family support acts as a protective factor against anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents. However, levels of family support may vary across demographics as some studies suggest ethnic minority parents may be more rejecting of SGM adolescents than White parents. This could be accounted for by the greater religiosity of African American and Latine families than White families, as the conservative values of churches often promote homophobia and negative views of SGM individuals. We propose that:1) SGM POC will report lower levels of family support/ higher levels of family rejection than White SGM; 2) racial differences in family support/rejection will be explained by racial differences in religiosity. A sample of 354 SGM-AFAB participants (47.5% African American, 32.5% White, 20.1% Latine) reported on family support, family rejection, and parents' religiosity. We conducted one-way analyses of variances (ANOVA) to test for racial differences in family support, rejection, and religiosity. We then proceeded to run ANCOVAs to test for differences between race and family support while controlling for religiosity. Results: 1) White SGM reported higher levels of family support compared to SGM POC, specifically Black SGM, but levels of family rejection did not differ between ethnic groups. 2) Overall religiousness scores were higher for Black SGM compared to White SGM. However, parental religiosity did not account for racial differences in family support or rejection. Findings reinforce the need to examine the non-religious cultural factors when accounting for observed ethnic differences in family support.