Features of Positive Developmental Leisure Settings for LGBTQ Youth

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth face a disproportionate risk of a range of problem issues such as depression and drug use (Saewyc, 2011). However, little is known about factors that might promote positive developmental experiences among young people who identify as a non-dominant sexuality. The National Research Council’s (2002) features of positive developmental settings framework provides strong theoretical rationale for factors likely to promote positive development experiences, but the usefulness of its propositions for LGBTQ youth has yet to be explored. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the National Research Council’s (2002) features of positive developmental settings framework in the context of an organized leisure program designed to serve LGBTQ youth. Ethnographic techniques were employed to explore program structure and features at an organized leisure program designed to serve LGBTQ
youth. Data collection techniques included (a) interviews (n = 13); (b) notes from four months spent as a participant observer, (c) a researcher journal, and (d) collecting program documents such as the volunteer training manual. Thematic analysis indicated that although all of the National Research Council’s features appeared relevant, two emerged as particularly significant contributors to positive development: support for efficacy and mattering and opportunities to belong. Staffers endeavored to support a range of levels of engagement by enforcing social norms that reinforced the capabilities of youth as well as providing a range of structured and unstructured activity options. However, this approach to youth engagement also resulted in challenges related to documenting program outcomes and pursuing funding for program operations. Most youth participants reported a sense of belonging to Pulse that was fostered through both day-to-day activities and larger scale one-time events. Belongingness may have been facilitated by the abilities of staff to make others feel welcome as well as the opportunities for free identity expression provided by Pulse. The commonalities between features of positive youth programs for LGBTQ and heterosexual youth suggest that leisure may serve as a site of connection among diverse groups. Practitioners would be well served by exploring the possibility of offering activities at multiple levels of engagement simultaneously within their programs in order to meet the needs of a broader range of young people. Further exploration of features of positive developmental settings is vital to advancing leisure service provision for non-dominant sexualities.