Navigating negativity

A grounded theory and integrative mixed methods investigation of how sexual and gender minority youth cope with negative comments online

Bibliographic Data

ID12978419
AuthorsShelley Craig (0000-0002-7991-7764, University of Toronto, corresponding author), Allen Eaton (0000-0003-1331-1222, University of Toronto), Lauren B Mcinroy (0000-0001-5426-5782, The Ohio State University), Sandra D’Souza (0000-0003-4395-7673, University of Toronto), Sreedevi Krishnan (University of Toronto), Alex Wells (0000-0002-7748-2269, University of Toronto), Gordon A Wells, Lloyd Twum-Siaw (University of Toronto), Vivian W Y Leung (0000-0002-5455-2076, University of Toronto)
Year2019
Volume11
Issue3
Pages161-179
Publication date2019-09-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychology and Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1941-9902 • E-ISSN: 1941-9899
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19419899.2019.1665575
OpenAlexW2972165604
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited57

Sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) often lack support to navigate their minority identities and elevated psychosocial risks. When their offline environment presents challenges to wellbeing, many SGMY turn to internet-enabled information and communication technologies (ICTs) to develop identities, cope with daily stressors, and access support. However, online environments also contain negativity, including comments which display anti-sexual and gender minority (SGM) biases. Such content differs from cyberbullying, which is typically intentional and perpetrated by offline peers. It is critical to understand how SGMY cope with negative comments online, as these interactions may threaten resilience. This grounded theory and integrative mixed methods study explored the online experiences of SGMY from the United States and Canada (n = 5,243), to identify the range and influence of negative comments. Participants were primarily adolescents (M = 18.22, SD = 3.61), pansexual, (30.1%, n = 1,576), and cis female, (41.1%, n = 2,592). Open, axial, and selective coding were employed to generate seven themes: appraising, avoiding, responding, adaptive coping, maladaptive coping, impacting wellbeing, and a non-issue; resulting in a model of how SGMY cope with negative comments. Findings highlight the complex ways that SGMY deal with online negativity. Considerations for research and practice are provided

Coping (psychology · Developmental psychology · Grounded theory · Negativity effect · Online and offline · Psychosocial · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Sexual minority · Sexual orientation · Stressor · Clinical Psychology · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Social Psychology