Dissertation
The relation between 2016 presidential voting records, bullying in schools, and LGBTQ youth mental health
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000002405
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/121152
Abstract
Research has found that LGBTQ anti-bullying policies in schools and inclusive clubs are related to improved mental health for LGBTQ students, with researchers arguing for policy change to create more affirming school environments. However, research has yet to examine the effect of school district political leaning on LGBTQ students, despite research revealing that conservative political beliefs are related to increased LGBTQ-based prejudice. The current study explored the effects of school district political leaning, as indexed by 2016 presidential voting records, on students’ bullying experiences in schools and mental health outcomes, particularly for LGBTQ student youth in Washington (WA). The 2018 WA Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) was used to examine youth health data and the WA school district voting records were provided by Washington State University researchers.
It was hypothesized that 1) at least 10% of the sample would identify as LGBTQ, 2) bullying would predict increased psychological distress, 3) students with an LGBTQ identity would report more bullying and psychological distress in comparison to non-LGBTQ students, 4) bullying would mediate the relationship between LGBTQ identity and psychological distress, 5) school district voting record would moderate the relationship between LGBTQ identity and bullying, and 6) school district voting record would moderate the relationship between LGBTQ identity and psychological distress. As hypothesized, 20% of the final sample was LGBTQ. In addition, although bullying predicted psychological distress for all students, LGBTQ students endorsed increased rates of bullying and psychological distress. Furthermore, bullying served as a mediator between LGBTQ identity and psychological distress. Finally, school district voting record moderated the relationship between LGBTQ identity and bullying, such that LGBTQ students in more conservative school districts endorsed more bullying, which predicted more psychological distress. These findings were replicated when suicidality was used as the dependent variable, demonstrating the extreme negative impact that conservative political leaning in school districts can have on LGBTQ students. Given that school district conservatism is related to increased rates of bullying and poor mental health outcomes for LGBTQ students, policy change is essential in order to improve public school LGBTQ bullying policies and prioritize the mental health of LGBTQ youth.
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Details
- Title
- The relation between 2016 presidential voting records, bullying in schools, and LGBTQ youth mental health
- Creators
- Steven Matthew Hobaica
- Contributors
- Paul Kwon (Advisor)Walt Scott (Committee Member)Paul Strand (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Psychology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 45
- Identifiers
- 99900606653901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation