Study support for young people with same-sex attraction – views and experiences from a pioneering peer support initiative in the north of England

Abstract

AbstractThere has been a significant lack of accessible, appropriate and freely available support for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people facing challenges and hostility at school and in their personal lives. In response to this, LGB youth groups have been developing throughout Britain in recent years. This paper reports preliminary findings of part of the first phase of an empirical study conducted at a recently established voluntary sector peer support project (PSP) in the north of England. Our aim was to elicit the views and experiences of the participants regarding the need for support and the nature of the support offered. Meanings being fundamental in this, interpretative phenomenology was the methodology adopted to gain access to them. Viewpoints were sought from a range of people both seeking and offering support at the project. With the aim of eliciting accounts of a narrative type, depth interviews were conducted using an unstructured conversational approach; documentation on the project was also examined. Procedures for computer-assisted qualitative data analysis were applied using QSR NVivo software. To convey some of the narrative richness of the data relevant to education, we focus in this paper on the relatively small number of respondents who, from the various forms of support offered at the PSP, used the Study Club. Key issues revealed in respondents’ narratives centre on the marked disruption to their education that resulted from harassment received at school; the inadequacy of such support as was available for them within schools; support received from their parents; and how the Study Club helped them.