LGBTQ Youth & Families
Research shows that families of origin serve as one of the largest early influences on LGBTQ people’s health and well-being. Our team closely examines the relationships between LGBTQ youth and their parents, siblings, and other family members to better understand how families can adapt to and support their child's LGBTQ identity. We use a range of methodological and theoretical approaches in this line of research and are particularly driven by the potential to positively impact LGBTQ youth's mental health through these efforts. For instance, we have employed longitudinal cohort studies to identify the early emergence of the sexual orientation disparity in depression and to study the role of parent support in LGBTQ youth’s neurological and behavioral responses to social rejection. We are also currently conducting several clinical trials of interventions to help parents support their LGBTQ children’s mental health and of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT to directly support LGBTQ young people.
Publications
2023
- A Developmental Model of the Sexual Minority Closet: Structural Sensitization, Psychological Adaptations, and Post-closet Growth.Pachankis JE, Jackson SD. Arch Sex Behav. 2023 Jul; 2022 Aug 17. PMID: 35978203.
2022
- Early Timing and Determinants of the Sexual Orientation Disparity in Internalizing Psychopathology: A Prospective Cohort Study from Ages 3 to 15.Pachankis JE, Clark KA, Klein DN, Dougherty LR. J Youth Adolesc. 2022 Mar; 2021 Nov 3. PMID: 34731394.
2020
- Prevalence of Bullying Among Youth Classified as LGBTQ Who Died by Suicide as Reported in the National Violent Death Reporting System, 2003-2017.Clark KA, Cochran SD, Maiolatesi AJ, Pachankis JE. JAMA Pediatr. 2020 Dec 1. PMID: 32453408.
- Parent versus child report of children's sexual orientation: associations with psychiatric morbidity in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study.Clark KA, Mennies RJ, Olino TM, Dougherty LR, Pachankis JE. Ann Epidemiol. 2020 May; 2020 Apr 2. PMID: 32439147.
2018
- A 7-year longitudinal study of sexual minority young men's parental relationships and mental health.Pachankis JE, Sullivan TJ, Moore NF. J Fam Psychol. 2018 Dec; 2018 Jun 21. PMID: 29927284.
Additional Publications
- Seager van Dyk, I., Clark, K. A., Dougherty, L. R., & Pachankis, J. E. (2022). Parent responses to their sexual and gender minority children: Implications for parent-focused supportive interventions. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000589
- Clark, K. A., Dougherty, L. R., & Pachankis, J. E. (2021). A study of parents of sexual and gender minority children: Linking parental reactions with child mental health. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000456