2014/08/30 by V. Paul Poteat, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Jerel P. Calzo +7 · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Youth Development and Social Support #Child Welfare and Adoption #Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports #Lesbian #Psychology #Attendance #Psychological resilience #Ethnic group #Multilevel model #Demographics #Positive Youth Development #Social psychology #Developmental psychology #Control (management) #Demography #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1111/cdev.12289
openalex publication_date 2014/08/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Gay-straight alliances (GSAs) may promote resilience. Yet, what GSA components predict well-being? Among 146 youth and advisors in 13 GSAs (58% lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning; 64% White; 38% received free/reduced-cost lunch), student (demographics, victimization, attendance frequency, leadership, support, control), advisor (years served, training, control), and contextual factors (overall support or advocacy, outside support for the GSA) that predicted purpose, mastery, and self-esteem were tested. In multilevel models, GSA support predicted all outcomes. Racial/ethnic minority youth reported greater well-being, yet lower support. Youth in GSAs whose advisors served longer and perceived more control and were in more supportive school contexts reported healthier outcomes. GSA advocacy also predicted purpose. Ethnographic notes elucidated complex associations and variability as to how GSAs operated.