How Do School Resource Officers Foster Resilience in Sexual and Gender Minority Youth?

• Author / Creator

  Pynoo, Emily

• Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth face higher rates of discrimination, comprehensive health challenges, and negative social repercussions than their heterosexual and cisgender peers. As a result, they are more likely to engage in substance use; ideate about, attempt, or die by suicide; drop out of high school; and be involved with the justice system. Researchers have found that having one supportive adult can help vulnerable youth mitigate these risks and build resilience. As SGM youth do not always have supportive parents, they may need to rely on other caring adults for support. Police officers, including those working as School Resource Officers (SROs), have been largely absent from research on the importance and impact of caring adults in the lives of SGM youth. To help address this dearth, this research involving two Edmonton high schools investigated how SROs working with SGM youth can foster positive outcomes and support asset–building. Both SROs and the SGM youth with whom they work participated in open–ended interviews to inform this case study research. Through thematic analysis, it was found that SROs who are supportive and affirming can indeed foster positive outcomes and help SGM youth grow into resilience. To conclude, the role of SROs in supporting the unique needs of underserved youth today and the implications of the current study for future research and practice are discussed.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Sexual and Gender Minority Youth
  • Resilience
  • LGBTQ2S+
  • School Resource Officers

• Graduation date

  Fall 2020

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Education

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-4hnd-a115

• License

  Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.