Parental support is not enough: How parental socialization theories can advance LGBTQ+ youth family research, practice, and health

Abstract

LGBTQ+ youth endure health inequities resulting from stigma and would benefit from strategies that help them navigate unique developmental challenges. One promising strategy to address LGBTQ+ youths' health is augmenting parenting behaviors to support youth's adaptive strategies in the face of stigma. There remain limited conceptual frameworks and empirical focus on parenting LGBTQ+ youth. Adjacent research on racial-ethnic socialization—parental practices that communicate messages about race, ethnicity, and culture to children—offers compelling evidence for the protective influence of adaptive identity-based socialization strategies for racially and ethnically minoritized youth. In this commentary, we review the current conceptual perspectives of LGBTQ+ youths' family environment and discuss how lessons learned from racial-ethnic socialization scholarship inform advances in research and practice with LGBTQ+ youth and their families. Throughout, we offer suggestions for advancing scientific understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity-related socialization for LGBTQ+ youth and its potential impact on youth's development and well-being.