Jessica Fish Talk on "The Paradox of Social Progress for LGBTQ+ Youth and the Untapped Potential of Family"

Contemporary sexual and gender diverse youth are coming of age at a time of dynamic social and political change regarding LGBTQ+ rights and visibility and continue to experience mental and behavioral health inequities. In this talk, Dr. Fish will frame LGBTQ+ youth development and health using the Developmental Collision Hypothesis. She’ll present how this framework conceptualizes LGBTQ+ youth development and health in context and how contemporary social factors drive LGBTQ+-related inequality. In the latter half of the talk, Dr. Fish will discuss evidence-informed strategies to support LGBTQ+ youth thriving, including new conceptual and empirical developments regarding LGBTQ+ youth’s family environment. In doing so, she will contend that investment and innovation in family-focused interventions have the potential to disrupt the persistent inequality that arises from this developmental collision for LGBTQ+ youth.