Intersectional Social Support: Gender, Race, and LGBTQ Youth Friendships

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth experience disproportionate mental health challenges due to minority stress. Little research, however, has considered how social support from intragenerational friends impacts the mental health of LGBTQ youth, particularly for LGBTQ youth of color. Based mainly on qualitative interviews from a longitudinal study with 83 LGBTQ youth from California and Texas, we develop the concept of intersectional social support-how multiply marginalized individuals subjectively interpret social support and how they view social support from similar multiply marginalized others. More specifically, the findings of this study capture how the intersecting identities of age, sexuality, gender, and race can shape the meanings and experiences of receiving familial support, emotional support, informational support, and instrumental support. This study is an important contribution to understanding how intersecting identities influence how people perceive social support practices and manage their mental health.