Today's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth are among the first to come out during adolescence. According to Stephen T. Russell, professor and Fitch Nesbitt Endowed Chair at the University of Arizona, many adolescents come out at school, a crucial peer environment. "For adolescents, coming out is associated with greater risk for peer victimization and harassment," he says. "At the same time, studies of LGBT adults indicate that coming out is associated with positive social and emotional adjustment."
As part of the second annual Gertrude Weigum Hinsz Lecture Series, Russell will present “Being Out and Gay in High School: Victimization and Young Adult Adjustment” on Friday, March 26, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Memorial Union Century Theater. A reception will follow the presentation in the Memorial Union Prairie Rose room. Continuing Education credit is available. The series is sponsored by the Department of Human Development and Family Science.
During his presentation, Russell will discuss whether coming out has developmental benefits and if such benefits out-weigh the risks of victimization that may result from coming out as LGBT in adolescence. Results of his study show that school victimization is a strong mediator of the link between being out at school and young adult adjustment.
Russell also is director of the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth and Families. He conducts research on adolescent pregnancy and parenting, cultural influences on parent-adolescent relationships and the health and development of LGBT youth. He received a Wayne F. Placek Award from the American Psychological Foundation in 2000, was a William T. Grant Foundation Scholar from 2001-06, a board member of the National Council on Family Relations from 2005-08 and was elected as a member of the International Academy of Sex Research in 2004. He is associate editor for the Journal for Research on Adolescence and president-elect of the Society for Research on Adolescence.
For more information about Russell, go to cals.arizona.edu/fcs/faculty/stephen_russell.
