This research focuses on establishing associations that exist between school victimization and the lives of young adults and adolescents. The researchers try to incorporate data that include different ethnicities such as the Latinos and Whites in order to establish convincing results. In addition, the study offers new areas that need to be researched further to develop preventative actions that may be of assistance in reduce harassment and victimization of gays, lesbians, and bisexual young adults in schools.
The topic of this paper concerning developmental psychology is Gender-Non conforming Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth: School Victimization and Young Adult Psychosocial Adjustment. The topic indicates how some of children in schools are victimized because of their sexuality. In this research, the authors were trying to develop an understanding about the interactions of young adolescents who are either gay or lesbians in schools and how they adjust to these situations. The researchers of this paper used three hypotheses to be able to develop information concerning relationships of these children in a school setting. In the first hypotheses, the researchers were trying to find out whether upper levels of gender non-conformity in the young teenagers is because of the victimization is because of their LGBT status. In the second hypothesis, try to establish whether biological orientation, that is, whether male or female determines who experiences more victimization (Toomey, Ryan, & Diaz, 2010). In the last hypothesis, the researchers try to establish how victimization of the gay or lesbian adolescents in school affects how the young adults adjust to the psychosocial adjustment.
In order to collect their data for research, the researchers employed data from the Family Acceptance Project, a survey conducted on 245 young adults of a gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation. Most of these data was collected in the San Francisco Bay area where most of these young adults frequent. The age of the young adults in the study was between 21 and 25 years with a mean age coming to approximately 22.8 years. Percentage composition according to ethnicity included 48.6 percent white adults and 51.4 % Latinos. 8.6% of the young adults were identified as transgender, 44.9% as female, and 46.5% as male. The socio-economic status of the sample recorded. 16 to indicated that both parents were employed and 1 indicated that both parents were unemployed. The marital status of the sample was not indicated in the study.
In conclusion, the study provided new knowledge concerning the negative impacts that young adults go through due to school victimization. This provided additional information on why some students were willing to murder others just because of their sexual orientation. In addition, the findings of the research showed that further research was required to determine other factors that may be vital in the lives of bisexual, gay, or lesbian young adults. This study is important since, before this study, there were no documented studies regarding gender non-conformity and school victimization of gay, lesbian, or bisexual young adults that the authors were aware. According to Toomey, Ryan, and Diaz (2010), some of the limitations of the study included the lack of establishment of a generalization of the other gender non-conforming youth outside California and establishment of casualties. In addition, the order in which measurements were done in the survey presented some level of bias since the participants were asked to report about school victimization rather than being asked about their present life situation. Furthermore, there was the lack of a way to measure the victimization expectations. Future research on this topic should focus on the schools for purposes of developing protective measures that may help in reducing harassment and victimization.
The study highlights some of the challenges that young adults and adolescents go through in schools and their everyday lives. In agreement with the authors, more research should be conducted to ensure measures are established, which can prevent incidents of murder as was the case in Larry King’s murder. Thorough research was conducted in the study. However, in the future such studies should also include ethnicities such as the African Americans and the Asian communities. This will provide a valid representation of the population of being researched. The only limitation the study is that it was confined to one geographical area. In summary, such studies will help to protect the gay, lesbian, and bisexual people as a whole. In addition, the government should fund such studies to ensure lives that are in danger are saved.
Toomey, R. B., Ryan, C., and Diaz, R.M. (2010). Gender-Nonconforming Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth: School Victimization and Young Adult Psychosocial Adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 1, 1-11.
