By linking high school transcripts with the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) survey ( Udry 2003), we can compare sexual minority youths’ success on a broad range of academic measures, from getting through high school to preparing for college education, to that of their other-sex attracted peers, and we can examine possible explanations for any differences found. 2007) provide the first opportunity to explore whether and to what extent youth with same-sex attractions enter adulthood with an educational disadvantage compared to their other-sex attracted peers. Data collected by the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement (AHAA) study ( Muller et al. Accordingly, the difficulties faced during adolescence may have lasting consequences that extend into adulthood.Įxisting data have not allowed researchers to systematically examine how sexual minority youth fare in school until now. Academic success and the ability to meet requirements for postsecondary education require successful interface between the adolescent and the institution, but students who are alienated from their school due to marginalizing social norms and hostile surroundings may be unable to negotiate this successfully.
These problems emerge at a critical time of increased stratification, as students prepare for postsecondary education and career paths. Indeed, adolescents with same-sex attraction report poorer attitudes toward school and more trouble with teachers and peers ( Rostosky et al. The stigmatization faced by these students can lead to social withdrawal and isolation. Adolescents who experience same-sex romantic attractions may have a difficult time during this period as they weigh their feelings against a system of social norms that silences them and labels them as different. As a proximate site of a broader normative culture that legitimizes some sexualities and deems others deviant, schools can create an unwelcoming environment for students with nonheterosexual feelings, identities, or behaviors. A great deal of this developmental work takes place within schools, important socializing institutions that prepare adolescents for adult roles and postsecondary education. Additionally, while same-sex attracted boys show poorer academic performance, same-sex attracted girls do not, suggesting that gender may shape how sexual minority youth experience and respond to marginalizing school environmentsĪdolescence is a time of emerging sexuality as well as a period of preparation for the transition to adulthood. Results suggest that same-sex attracted students, particularly boys, do suffer academically, and that this is in part a result of school-related problems and risk factors such as emotional distress and substance use however, a great deal of the disadvantage fails to be explained by these factors. In this study, we examine (1) whether same-sex attracted adolescents have lower levels of academic success, (2) if their lower academic success is explained by a lack of social integration at school, and (3) whether these relationships differ for boys and girls. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the newly collected Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement study provide the first opportunity to fully explore whether and to what extent same-sex attracted youth enter adulthood with an educational disadvantage. This lack of social integration is likely to affect their educational success. Previous research has demonstrated that sexual minority youth report greater levels of school-related problems, including a weaker sense of attachment to school and more trouble with teachers and peers. This stigma can lead them to withdraw and disengage from school at a critical time of preparation for adulthood, which can compromise opportunities for future success. Schools create environments in which some sexual feelings, behaviors, and relationships are stigmatized, and this may have negative consequences for adolescents with nonheterosexual romantic attractions.