Living as an LGBTQ Adolescent and a Parent's Child: Overlapping or Separate Experiences.
Christopher J Mehus, Ryan J Watson, Marla E Eisenberg and 2 others
PMID 28795897WHAT IT FOUND
66 LGBTQ youth described a range: when parents were accepting, being LGBTQ and being their child felt like one life; when parents were unsupportive, they kept the two separate, hiding resources and changing behavior.
Key findings
01Parents contributed to overlap by creating a safe and accepting environment, including pronoun use and everyday support.
02Youth kept parent-child and LGBTQ experiences separate when they were not out or perceived parents as unaccepting, by avoiding topics, hiding resources, or staying away.
03Youth accounts linked greater overlap to easier access to external resources and greater separation to difficulty accessing them.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was reached through schools and LGBTQ organizations, so it likely missed youth who were not out or not connected to those settings. Family was not asked about directly, so the paper reports what youth chose to mention about parents, not a structured family assessment. Only parent-related quotes were analyzed, so support from siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other caregivers is not described. The study cannot say how much overlap each youth had or whether overlap improves outcomes; it describes experiences without testing them. No participants were out to no one, so the paper does not describe that experience.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the overlap theme as evidence that parental acceptance improves health outcomes. This was a qualitative study of youth experiences, not a trial or outcome assessment.