Navigating Sexual Health and Gender Identity in Homeschooling Contexts
A Qualitative Study of Lived Experiences
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19225740 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hannah G Badley (University of Memphis, corresponding author), Jonah Stewart (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine), Lindsey Sizemore (0000-0002-2035-8267), Latrice C Pichon (University of Memphis), Aeryn Longuevan (University of Memphis) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-11 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sexuality Research and Social Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1553-6610 • E-ISSN: 1868-9884 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s13178-026-01351-4 |
| OpenAlex | W7160860039 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 59 |
Introduction Homeschooling has expanded rapidly in the United States over the past two decades and even more so in the post-COVID era. Yet little research has examined its implications for sexual and reproductive health education or gender identity development. Existing scholarship primarily centers parental motivations, leaving the lived experiences of homeschooled youth largely unexplored. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and May of 2025 with 32 adults who were homeschooled during childhood and adolescence. Data were analyzed using Constructivist Ground Theory (CGT) to theorize sexual health education, healthcare navigation, and gendered educational experiences in homeschooling communities. Results Findings indicate that many participants experienced limited or inconsistent access to evidence-based sexual health information, particularly within conservative or religious homeschooling environments. Participants frequently described delayed healthcare engagement, reliance on informal information sources, and gendered expectations that shaped both educational content and identity development. Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) participants reported heightened barriers related to stigma and isolation. Conclusions These findings underscore a critical gap in public health research and practice within homeschooling research and highlight the need for culturally responsive interventions to support equisexual health education and healthcare access for homeschooled populations. Policy Implications Future policy efforts should address the absence of standardized sexual health education benchmarks in homeschooling contexts and the limited public accountability mechanisms for ensuring equihealth literacy outcomes across education modalities
Health care · Psychological intervention · Public health · Qualitative research · Reproductive health · Scholarship · Sexual identity · Sexual minority · Sexual orientation · Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life · Diverse Education Studies and Reforms · Homelessness and Social Issues
The Sage Handbook of Interview Research
Information bias in health research
Sexuality Education
Three Decades of Research
A comprehensive review of reviews of school-based interventions to improve sexual-health
‘Homeschooling’ and the Covid-19 Crisis
But is it Comprehensive ? Unpacking the ‘comprehensive’ in comprehensive sexuality education
Comprehensive Sexuality Education as a Means of Promoting Sexual Health
Associations between sexually experienced adolescents' sources of information about sex and sexual risk outcomes
Comprehensive sexuality education, culture and gender
Access to healthcare among sexual and gender minority youth at risk for HIV
Comprehensive Sex Education Addressing Gender and Power
Putting the “Comprehensive” in Comprehensive Sexuality Education
The Effect of Rapport on Data Quality in Face-to-Face Interviews
Short-term effects of a rights-based sexuality education curriculum for high-school students
Comparison of Prospective and Retrospective Measurements of Frequency of Sexual Intercourse
A systematic review of the relationship between religion and attitudes toward transgender and gender-variant people
Sex education in adolescence
Sexual and gender minoritized youth in Christian home schools
Media Review
The State of Sexual Education
Sexual Education, Gender Ideology, and Youth Sexual Empowerment
Rie’s Story, Ryan’s Journey
Homeschooling Education
Sample Size Policy for Qualitative Studies Using In-Depth Interviews
On a new path
What is Wrong with Social Theory
The health care access and utilization of homeschooled children in the United States
Demystification and Actualisation of Data Saturation in Qualitative Research Through Thematic Analysis
The View From the Inside
Confidentiality in qualitative research
| Highly cited | No |
|---|