DASH Partner Update – January 2022

Division of Adolescent and School Health: Healthy Youth. Successful Futures.

Dear Partners,

Fostering safety and supportiveness in schools is key to promoting adolescent health and well-being. Safe and supportive school environments are particularly important for LGBTQ youth, who are at greater risk for negative psychosocial health outcomes, such as experiences of violence, high-risk substance use, poor mental health, and suicide-related behaviors. As our partners in this work, I know that I don’t have to tell you that creating connection, safety, and supportiveness in schools has never been more important.

As we look for ways that schools can nurture protective factors amidst and beyond the pandemic, I want to highlight a CDC study recently published in LGBTQ Health. These analyses demonstrate the positive impact that implementing school policies and practices supportive of LGBTQ youth has on the psychosocial health of youth who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) and their heterosexual peers.

LGBTQ-supportive school policies and practices that promote protective factors include:

  • Gender and Sexuality Alliances or Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs)
  • Safe spaces where LGBTQ youth can get support from school staff
  • Policies prohibiting sexual and gender identity-based harassment
  • Professional development for staff on LGBTQ-related issues
  • LGBTQ-inclusive curricula
  • Access to LGBTQ-friendly social, psychological, and health services outside of school

In schools that implement LGBTQ-supportive policies and practices, we see improved mental health outcomes for LGB youth, and their heterosexual peers. For instance, in schools with GSAs, LGB and heterosexual students were less likely to report suicide-related behaviors. In schools that encouraged staff to attend professional development on LGBTQ-focused issues, LGB students were less likely to attempt suicide and heterosexual students were less likely to report persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Importantly but not surprisingly, increasing the sum of LGBTQ-supportive policies and practices in schools was linked to lower odds of suicide-related behaviors among LGB students and positively impacted the psychosocial health of heterosexual students.

Schools must be places where LGBTQ youth feel safe and supported. This study reinforces the fact that we have strategies to do that, and provides further support for schools to do this work. We look forward to continuing to partner with you to ensure LGBTQ youth are supported in schools in the ways they need to thrive.

Best,
Kathleen

Kathleen A. Ethier, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Adolescent and School Health
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What's New at CDC?

Updates and Resources
Publications
DASH Around Town

March 9-12: Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Annual Meeting:

  • Sanjana Pampati is presenting a poster titled, “Foregone health care among U.S. adolescents and children during the COVID-19 pandemic— COVID Experiences Surveys, Wave 2, March–May, 2021”
  • Dr. Nicole Liddon is facilitating a workshop titled, “Adolescent sexual and reproductive health services via telehealth: Supporting implementation in a post-pandemic world”
  • Drs. Natalie Wilkins and Nicole Liddon are leading a presentation titled, “The role of school and family connectedness in promoting well-being and preventing violence among adolescents.”

Updates from Partners

  • Department of Education Guidance on Staying In School In-Person
    This new resource from the Department of Education highlights four important strategies to keep students and staff safe, healthy and ready for in-person learning throughout the 2021-22 school year and beyond.
  • National PTA: New National Survey Found Parents More Optimistic
    National PTA released findings of a national survey on how parents’ mindsets, expectations and concerns around COVID-19 safety guidance and protocols have evolved since their children’s return to school. Overall, parents reported an increase in their child’s positive emotions and a decrease in negative ones since August. Survey findings are detailed in NPTA’s press release.
  • National School Counseling Week
    National School Counseling Week 2022 (#NSCW22) is Feb. 7-11, 2022, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by American School Counselor Association (ASCA), highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. The 2022 theme is School Counseling: Better Together. ASCA developed a promotional toolkit with more information and sample messages.
  • The GSA Study Report
    GLSEN’s recently published report, The GSA Study: Results of National Surveys About Students’ and Advisors’ Experiences in Gender and Sexuality Alliance Clubs, is the first comprehensive report on the experiences of students and advisors in Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) across the United States.
  • HRC’s Time to THRIVE Conference
    The 9th annual Time to THRIVE will take place on February 8-10, 2022. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation in partnership with the National Education Association and the American Counseling Association present the annual national conference to promote safety, inclusion, and well-being for LGBTQ+ youth…everywhere. Learn more or register here.

In the Field

To better support bilingual students and their families, Seattle Public Schools collected and translated enrollment documents for School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) into the top five languages spoken across the district. The translated documents will be sent home to almost 53,000 students and their families. They will also be made available at each SBHC location.

Calendar

  • February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month, and Black History Month
  • February 7: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
  • February 7-11: National School Counseling Week
  • March is Women’s History Month
  • March 10: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
  • March 21-25: LGBTQ Health Awareness Week
  • March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility