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There is a paucity of research exploring sources of resilience among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) young people with multiple marginalized identities. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer unique opportunities for authentic self-expression, which is not always possible offline. The primary aims of this study were to understand unique sources of resilience among TGD youth in their online and offline lives. Using photo elicitation and grounded theory methods, we conducted online in-depth interviews with TGD young people (N = 29) between the ages of 14-25 across the United States identifying with at least one of the following social statuses: (1) person of color; (2) immigrant; or (3) living in a rural area. Four themes were identified from the data, with both online and offline artistic expression being viewed as a: (1) form of authentic self-expression; (2) coping mechanism; (3) way to connect to others; and (4) pathway toward agency. Findings advance understanding about the use of artistic expression as an underexamined source of resilience among TGD youth with multiple marginalized identities. Within clinical settings, options for TGD youth to participate in various forms of expressive art may improve engagement and enhance youths' abilities to authentically express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences to promote healing and growth.

The Council on Social Work Education mandates that students be prepared to work competently across lines of difference. Research suggests that social work programs have inadequate curricula for preparing students to work with LGBTQ+ people, and can be unsupportive of the needs of LGBTQ+ students. Little is understood about the experiences of LGBTQ+ social work students who work to address these programmatic inadequacies. This qualitative study collected data from LGBTQ+ social work students in the US and Canada who had engaged in efforts to increase inclusion in their programs. A thematic analysis found that students used individual and collective strategies to increase programmatic inclusion of LGBTQ+ people and content. Participants also described the burden associated with doing this identity work.

Classroom-based microaggressions are a critical problem, associated with a range of negative impacts for students in targeted groups. Central to the problem of microaggressions is that they are often unacknowledged or unaddressed by educators in their own classrooms. Findings from the Social Work Speaks Out! mixed-method survey demonstrate that LGBTQ+ undergraduate and graduate students experience a range of microaggressions in social work classrooms, as they would in classes in other fields. This article draws on qualitative data to examine the experiences of homophobic and transphobic microaggressions by social work students across the United States and Canada and introduces a new tool, grounded in the data, to guide educators in recognizing, naming, and effectively addressing microaggressions in their own classrooms.

This study examines students' negative experiences in field placement related to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, examining areas of conflict and emotional responses to conflicts. Using a subset of data gathered as part of a larger survey of 1,018 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) undergraduate and graduate social work students in the United States and Canada, an analysis is conducted on qualitative responses (N=207) to a question about conflict in the field. The authors identified six LGBTQ-related conflict themes: managing disclosure, unsupportive agency atmosphere, handling others' discomfort, dealing with discriminatory attitudes and behaviors, bad practice with LGBTQ clients, and challenges found within an LGBTQ-serving agency. Forty student responses discussed feelings of fear, sadness, discomfort, and shame. Implications for field education with LGBTQ social work students are discussed.

Mixed methods analyses of an online survey sample (n = 4942) of sexual and/or gender minority youth (SGMY) (age 14-29) explore the relationship between participation in online fandom communities and (1) socially-mediated identity milestones and (2) self-identification, comparing fandom participating SGMY versus non-fandom participating SGMY. Fandom participating youth were younger than their non-fandom participating peers, were more active online daily, and hit established identity milestones earlier and more rapidly. Fandom participating youth also identified with more complexity, using a broader variety of more non-traditional sexual identity and gender identity labels. Implications for research and practice are provided.

Peer researchers (PRs) are research team members who share traits (e.g. gender, age, sexual orientation, diagnosis, income, housing situation, etc.) with study participants. Participatory methods and some fields (e.g. HIV/AIDS) expect PRs to be equitably involved in a project. Moreover, in Canada, there is a current impetus to include 'the patient' in health research. PRs often join a project without any formal research training, yet they are frequently tasked with suggesting appropriate language, recruiting participants, conducting interviews, administering surveys, analyzing data, and presenting findings. While there is literature on PR hiring, ethical considerations of PR engagement, and PR experiences, the methods of training PRs remain underreported. A blended learning curriculum (i.e. combination of webinars, didactic in-person presentation, filmed simulation, etc.), informed by the principles of action learning and the concept of reciprocity, has shown preliminary effectiveness in training PRs across two studies. This paper will present the curriculum, alongside exploratory evaluation results (n = 7), with details on how the curriculum changed from one study to the next and how reciprocity between academic and peer researchers led to stronger collaborations.

This exploratory study used grounded theory to understand the role of minority stress on the first-year experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning emerging adults attending a university in the Northeastern part of the United States. Twenty-one lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning sophomores participated in focus groups asking them to reflect on their first-year of university. Themes suggest that participants tackle multiple challenges simultaneously: the developmental task of increased independence and stressors specific to lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning adults such as encountering stigma. Furthermore, participants manifested resilience in response to minority stress. Participants joined campus organizations, expressed pride in their identities, made use of social supports, and sought out safe opportunities to disclose. The discussion concludes with implications for practice and policy.

Simulation-based learning (SBL) is a powerful tool for social work education, preparing students to practice in integrated health care settings. In an educational environment addressing patient health using an integrated care model, there is growing emphasis on students developing clinical competencies prior to entering clinical placements or clinical practice settings. This article highlights the importance of SBL in the development of the clinical competencies of graduate social work students enrolled in a Social Work Practice in Health course. The development and implementation of an educational initiative using a family-based simulation scenario to enhance classroom learning for health social work practice is described, and recommendations for future educational initiatives using SBL are provided.

Discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social work students can negatively affect academic performance and personal and professional identity development. Intersectionality is a conceptual approach that states that social identities interact to form different meanings and experiences from those that could be explained by a single identity. This study explored how the educational experiences of LGBTQ social work students in the United States and Canada influenced their professional and personal identities. Using an intersectional analysis, three major themes emerged: the need for social work programs to better promote LGBTQ identity and emerging social work professional identity integration, a lack of LGBTQ content in the curriculum, and unsupportive LGBTQ school climates. Implications for social work education are considered.

Social work has professional and academic standards consistent with transgender affirmative education and practice. Nevertheless, a growing body of research suggests that transgender issues are largely absent from social work education, resulting in practitioners who are uninformed or biased against transgender issues. The present study expands the literature through a mixed methods study exploring perceptions of transgender issues in social work education from the perspectives of transgender social work students (n = 97). Quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal barriers to transgender affirmative social work education including (1) transphobic microaggressions within classroom and field settings, (2) the absence of transgender specific education and expertise, and (3) the general lack of visibility of transgender issues. Recommendations for transgender affirmative social work education are provided.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth have the potential for considerable resilience. Positive media representations may mediate negative experiences and foster self-esteem, yet the relationship between resilience and both traditional offline and new online media remains underaddressed for this population. This grounded-theory exploration of media-based resilience-building activities by LGBTQ youth (n = 19) indicated four themes that media use enabled: coping through escapism; feeling stronger; fighting back; and finding and fostering community. Data are embedded to evidence thematic findings and incorporate participant voices. The importance of considering the media within contemporary LGBTQ youth's ecological framework to capture their resilience is considered.

Social workers delivering services in health care settings face unique challenges and opportunities. The purpose of this study was to solicit input from social workers employed in urban hospitals about their perceptions of the roles, contribution, and professional functioning of social work in a rapidly changing health care environment. Using qualitative methods, the university and hospital-based research team conducted seven focus groups (n = 65) at urban hospitals and analyzed the data using an interpretive framework with ATLAS.ti software. Seven major themes emerged from the participants' description of their roles: bouncer, janitor, glue, broker, firefighter, juggler, and challenger. Along with descriptions of the ways social workers fulfilled those roles, participants articulated differences in status within those roles, the increasing complexity of discharge planning, and expectations to provide secondary support to other health care professionals on their teams. Implications for practice and research are discussed.