Understanding the Experiences of LGBTQ Students in California

T. Hanson, G. Zhang, R. Cerna, A. Stern, G. Austin

Executive summary: Research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning or queer (LGBTQ) youth are at high risk for bullying and violence victimization, poor mental health, alcohol and other drug use, and poor academic performance. In California, the availability of data from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) offers educators, school administrators, and state officials an important opportunity to explore how LGBTQ students - and other populations - perceive their school climate and how those perceptions relate to their academic success and emotional well-being. Previous research using data from CHKS has produced important findings regarding the experiences of LGBTQ students in California middle and high schools (WestEd, 2018). The present study builds on this research by using two years of CHKS data from grades 7, 9, and 11 in California schools to explore the relationships between students' sexual orientation, gender identity, experiences of bullying and harassment, emotional well-being, and school climate. Results are presented for three gender identity categories (transgender, not transgender, and ?not sure?) and for five sexual orientation categories (straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual, "not sure yet," and "something else"). In previous research, multiple gender identity and sexual orientation categories have typically been aggregated into a single LGBTQ sample, making it difficult to draw conclusions regarding differences in students' experiences based on these two aspects of their identities. This report disaggregates data on gender identity and sexual orientation in order to provide a more complete and nuanced picture of LGBTQ students'experiences in school.