LGBTQ+ youth make up a significant portion of the United States student population (Conron, 2020). A sense of belonging for middle school students is an essential indicator for academic achievement and positive motivational and health outcomes (Kosciw et al., 2020; Steiner et al., 2019), yet LGBTQ+ students experience less belonging than their…

A cohort of pediatric patients with gender dysphoria was studied to determine differences in gender-affirming care by patient characteristics. This study found that patients were diagnosed, on average, between 13 and 15 years of age. Patients who were assigned male sex at birth were more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and receive puberty…

In this conceptual essay, the author draws upon scholarship to reflect on personal experiences in a school associated with the New Apostolic Reformation, a neo-Charismatic Pentecostal network within the broader Christian nationalist movement. The author discusses the educational implications of the NAR's conspiratorial teachings about how demonic…

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how LGBTQ secondary public school administrators in California use the dimensions of centered leadership to find and create opportunities for connection, mentorship, career advancement, and joy at work. Theoretical Framework: A conceptual model that incorporated the…

Our objective was to estimate disparities in binge drinking among secondary school students in California at the intersection of gender identity, race, and ethnicity, without aggregating racial and ethnic categories. We combined two years of the statewide middle and high school California Healthy Kids Survey (n = 951,995) and regressed past month…

The U.S. college presidency remains predominantly white and male. However, trend data over the past several decades have documented increased diversity by race, gender, and race and gender (Green, 1988; Melidona et al., 2023). Still, LGBTQ+ college leadership has not been included in instrumentation resulting in a paucity of literature, with only…

Continuing to negate deficit framings of youth sexuality and amplify youth voices, this critical queer ethnography understands California high school students' experiences with comprehensive school-based sex education. Findings make visible the detailed account of youth voices in the space of sexual health education, highlighting their agency,…

Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) are school clubs for LGBTQ+ youth and peer allies to support one another. This eight-week weekly diary study considered whether a youth's positive and negative affect during a given week could be predicted by experiences in their most recently attended GSA meeting. Ninety-nine GSA members (M[subscript age] =…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color experience high rates of mental health disorders, yet they experience challenges to accessing mental health services. Community health worker (CHW) models of care have potential to promote equitable mental health services among LGBTQ youth. Our aim was to understand how CHW…

This study examines the influence of Christian nationalism in private Christian schools, with ABC Christian School in Southern California as a case study. It also explores its broader impact on American public education through parental rights groups pushing for book bans and curriculum changes. Survey data from former students and staff reveal…

This dissertation investigates how feminist and LGBTQ undergraduate students involved in activism on UC Davis use language to construct their identities, focusing on two gender and sexuality-based resource centers (the women's center and LGBTQ center). It seeks to address two research questions. First, how do cisgender, trans, and nonbinary…

Throughout history, society in the United States has marginalized women, People of Color, and queer individuals. Various systems of oppression often intersect to further subjugate individuals due to their inclusion in various underrepresented communities. Utilizing concepts from critical race theory and Latine critical theory (LatCrit), this…

Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) and inclusive school policies and practices that affirm youth with minoritized sexual orientations or gender identities (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer youth; LGBTQ+ youth) are two sources of support for LGBTQ+ youth that could promote school belonging. The current study tested a three-level…

Purpose: This study explored differences between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB)-housed and homeless students regarding substance use patterns on and off school grounds and the unique contribution of homelessness to substance use in school. Methods: Data were from the 2013-2015 California Healthy Kids Survey, a statewide survey of school…

As a mother, daughter, and educator in Compton, California, the author writes a letter as an episolary offering/love letter for adjunct professors. The author offers these brief words as an act of gratitude, as an act of daily survival, and as an act of abundant defiance against the elimination of Women of Color (WoC) adjunct professors, writers,…