Comprehensive Sexuality Education as a Longitudinal Predictor of LGBTQ Name-Calling and Perceived Willingness to Intervene in School

Bibliographic Data

ID10920175
AuthorsLaura Baams (0000-0001-5224-3694, Utrecht University, corresponding author), Judith Semon Dubas (0000-0003-2462-4427, Utrecht University), Marcel A G Van Aken (0000-0003-3656-4003, Utrecht University)
Year2017
Volume46
Issue5
Pages931-942
Publication date2017-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Youth and Adolescence (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2891 • E-ISSN: 1573-6601
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10964-017-0638-z
PMID28130692
OpenAlexW2582766038
LanguageEN
Citations received31
References cited25

Comprehensive sexuality education and sexuality education that is inclusive to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth is thought to educate and support youth in their social relations. Despite the obligation for Dutch schools to cover sexuality education in their curricula, including the topic of sexual diversity, the content that is covered varies widely across schools. With the current study, we present an overview of the content of sexuality education as reported by a sample of 601 Dutch adolescents (58.4% female youth) from six different high schools (e.g., public, Roman Catholic, protestant, anthroposophical; grades 10-12). Further, we examine whether the content or extensiveness of sexuality education at the beginning of the school year is related to a decrease in LGBTQ name-calling and an increase in the willingness to intervene when witnessing LGBTQ name-calling at the end of the school year. Adolescents completed three surveys, spaced four months apart. The results show that anatomy, STI prevention, and relationships are covered most often in sexuality education, with less attention to sexual diversity. Our longitudinal findings show that having a wide variety of topics covered in sexuality education-not just sexual diversity-was related to an increase in perceived willingness to intervene when witnessing LGBTQ name-calling by teachers or school staff, fellow students, and youth themselves (female youth). It also predicted a decrease in the occurrence of name-calling according to females. Our findings emphasize the importance of having comprehensive sexuality education in schools; it not only educates and empowers youth but also signals a safer school climate

Curriculum · Developmental psychology · Diversity (politics · Health psychology · Homosexuality · Human sexuality · Lesbian · Pedagogy · Public health · Queer · Sex education · Sexual orientation · Sexuality education · Sociology · Transgender · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology