Concerns of parents of lesbians and gays: Interview with Cynthia Conley, Ph.D. - a podcast by Jonathan B. Singer, Ph.D., LCSW

Episode 62: Risk for suicide among gay youth has caught a lot of attention in the American media as of late. There have been a number of youth who have been bullied because they have been gay or perceived to be gay and who have consequently died by suicide. Dan Savage and friends and colleagues and supporters have put together an amazing project called "It Gets Better" (http://www.itgetsbetterproject.com/) focusing on the issue of youth suicide for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, question and queer teens.

Now there is good reason for this. According to the U.S. Government's Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide, gay and lesbian youth bear an increased risk of suicide, substance abuse, school problems, and isolation because of a "hostile and condemning environment, verbal and physical abuse, rejection and isolation from [peers and family]" (Gibson, 1989). Social worker and pioneer gay and lesbian researcher Caitlin Ryan, found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults who reported higher levels of family rejection during adolescence were 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide, 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression, 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs, and 3.4 times more likely to report having engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse compared with peers from families that reported no or low levels of family rejection.

So, here's the thing. Families who reject their kids are doing their kids a huge disservice. And that's the point of today's podcast. Today I'm talking with Dr. Cynthia Conley about the concerns of heterosexual parents of gay and lesbian youth.

Cynthia Conley, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Her research focuses on parental concerns about having gay and lesbian children. Currently, Professor Conley is investigating the types of clinical interventions used with heterosexual parents of gay and lesbian children to develop a best practice model to improve family cohesion during the coming out crisis. Professor Conley has worked with LGBT adolescents and their parents since the late 1990s, focusing on heterosexual parent’s acceptance of their LGBT children. She provides consultation to organizations, educational institutions, and service providers on working with families of LGBT children. She received her B.A. from Purdue University, her MSW from Indiana University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Louisville.

So here's the pop quiz for you: When lesbian or gay youth come out to their parents, what concerns are their parents most likely to have? Well, I'm not going to answer - you'll have to listen to the podcast for that. And I hope you like it. So, on to episode 62 of the Social Work Podcast, Concerns of Parents of Gays and Lesbians: An Interview with Dr. Cynthia Conley. To read more about this episode, or the Social Work Podcast, please visit https://www.socialworkpodcast.com.

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