Minority stress and HERoic coping among ethnoracial sexual minority girls: Intersections of resilience
Craig, S. L., Austin, A., Alessi, E. McInroy, L., & Keane, G. (2017). Minority stress and HERoic coping among ethnoracial sexual minority girls: Intersections of resilience. Journal of Adolescent Research, 32(5), 614–641. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558416653217
Highlights
Background
Sexual minority youth (SMY) experience—often chronic—stress from discrimination and prejudice, which can negatively affect their well-being; yet they demonstrate extraordinary resilience.
Although aspects of resilience are shared across populations, many facets are culturally and contextually unique, and there is a lack of research exploring resilience in ethnoracial SMY.
Study Description
This study used a focus group methodology to explore experiences of stress and coping among 40 Hispanic, Caribbean Black, Haitian, and African American cisgender sexual minority girls living in the southeastern United States.
Key findings
Using grounded theory, an analysis of the data revealed that participants were part of a cultural context in which few boundaries existed between family, religion, and culture
Participants tended to believe that they were betraying family and culture because of their sexual minority identities. They described:
(1) Real or perceived transgressions of gender expectations and roles,
(2) Violating religious doctrine, and
(3) Emotional exclusion and taunting by family members
In the same context, the theme of HERoic Coping described participants’ resilience that manifested as:
(1) Serving as the family educator,
(2) Being “out” in the open with family, and
(3) Creating safety
We found that the negotiation of complex family, religious, and community environments is critical to understanding resilience in ethnoracial sexual minority girls.
