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Queer Adolescent Perceptions of Romantic Relationships and Dating Violence: Building an Integrative Framework for Lgbtq Violence Research

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Queer Adolescent Perceptions of Romantic Relationships and Dating Violence: Building an Integrative Framework for Lgbtq Violence Research 1 QUEER ADOLESCENT PERCEPTIONS OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND DATING VIOLENCE: BUILDING AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR LGBTQ VIOLENCE RESEARCH A dissertation presented by Leandra M. Smollin to The Department of Sociology and Anthropology In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Sociology Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts May, 2014 2 QUEER ADOLESCENT PERCEPTIONS OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND DATING VIOLENCE: BUILDING AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR LGBTQ VIOLENCE RESEARCH by Leandra M. Smollin ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities of Northeastern University, Boston, MA May, 2014 3 ABSTRACT Intimate partner violence among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer adolescents is a serious social and public health issue. Yet qualitative data is scarce. Using multiple qualitative methods and a feminist methodological approach, this study examines how intersecting identities, minority stress, and adolescent development impact queer adolescent perceptions and negotiations of romantic relationships and dating violence. Analysis of interview and focus group data from 23 adolescents and one year of ethnographic fieldwork yield three interrelated sets of results. Findings presented in chapter four examine the social landscape of LGBTQ adolescence. Sexual minority stress theory helps explain how social inequalities impact queer youth. This chapter offers an expanded framework: sexual and gender minority stress, that better accounts for trans-related stress and a changing cultural climate. Chapter five offers results specific to queer romantic relationships and dating culture. Participants maintain queer relationships are essentially "the same...but different" from their cisgender, heterosexual peers. Insights from intersectionality theory and adolescent development highlight how social location, minority stress, and the developmental tasks of adolescence together influence queer dating and relationships. Finally, chapter six presents findings specific to queer teen dating abuse. Youth unequivocally assert that relationship violence is a significant issue in LGBTQ communities. A lack of social scripts and language for queer relationships and violence, coupled with the universal culture of shame and secrecy surrounding intimate violence, help explain the 4 disjuncture between participants' perceptions of abuse and how they discuss actual encounters with relationship violence. Also, factors that may be especially salient to teen dating violence among LGBTQ adolescents are discussed; in order to promote understanding of why LGBTQ youth discourses minimize violence, and to indicate how LGBTQ teen dating violence may differ from that in non-LGBTQ/adolescent communities. Together, findings establish the need for an integrative theory accounting for structural inequalities, minority stress, and adolescent development. This interdisciplinary theoretical approach provides the groundwork for future health and violence research with LGBTQ adolescents. The concluding chapter outlines foundational elements of this approach, discusses policy and practice implications, and identifies limitations and directions for future research. KEY WORDS: intimate partner violence, teen dating violence, LGBTQ/ sexual minority youth, sexual minority stress, adolescent romantic relationships, feminist methodologies 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 9 List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................. 12 I. Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 13 II. Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 17 Conceptual Frameworks ......................................................................................... 18 III. Methodology and Methods ......................................................................................... 19 IV. Study Contributions .................................................................................................... 22 V. Dissertation Overview .................................................................................................. 23 Chapter 2: Theoretical Foundations for Interdisciplinary Health and Violence Research . 25 The Purpose and Focus of this Review .................................................................. 27 I. Integrating Insights from Feminism, Health, and Adolescent Studies .......................... 28 Feminist Sociology and Queer Theory ................................................................... 29 LGBTQ Health and Adolescence ........................................................................... 30 II. Sexual Minority Stress Models ................................................................................... 32 Sexual Minority Stress and Queer Youth ............................................................... 33 III. Romantic Relationships and Adolescent Development .............................................. 36 Theories of Adolescent Development and the Significance of Relationships ....... 38 IV. Theoretical Approaches to Intimate Partner Violence ................................................ 40 Sociology of Family Violence ................................................................................ 41 Feminist Frameworks ............................................................................................. 45 Intersectionality and Intimate Partner Violence ..................................................... 47 Intersectionality and Queer Adolescent Dating Violence ...................................... 49 Limitations and Implications for Research ............................................................. 51 V. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 3: Methodology and Methods ..................................................................................... 54 I. Methodology .................................................................................................................. 55 Critical Ethnography and Constructivist Grounded Theory ................................. 55 6 Feminist Methodologies ........................................................................................ 56 II. Research Design ........................................................................................................... 58 Ethnographic Fieldwork ........................................................................................ 59 Semi-Structured Interviews .................................................................................. 60 Focus Groups ........................................................................................................ 60 III. Data ............................................................................................................................. 63 IV. Data Collection ........................................................................................................... 67 Recruitment Procedures for Interviews and Focus Groups .................................... 67 Ethnographic Fieldwork ......................................................................................... 71 Ethical Considerations and Safeguards .................................................................. 72 Research Integrity and Commitment to Activism .................................................. 79 V. Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 81 VI. Limitations and Directions for Future Research ......................................................... 86 VII. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 90 Chapter 4: The Social Landscape of LGBTQ Adolescent Lives ............................................ 91 I. Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 93 A Changing Socio-Political Context ..................................................................... 93 School Climate ...................................................................................................... 96 Popular Culture and LGBTQ Visibility ................................................................ 97 The "Mainstreaming" of LGB(TQ) Populations= Social Progress? ..................... 98 Familial Relationships and An Epidemic of Homelessness ................................. 99 The Impact of Stress on LGBTQ Health ............................................................ 101 II.
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