title: Bridging the gap for lesbian youth: making our community their community.
abstract: This conceptual contribution expands upon the relevant literature regarding adolescent identity development, generally, as well as highlighting the specific tasks and challenges associated with identifying as a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) youth. Social support and community are discussed as important components of a healthy LGB identity, and the latter half of the article addresses barriers that are specific to lesbian youth when seeking community and/or social support. These barriers may be broadly construed as: the elusiveness of a centralized community, identity politics, and a lack of individual responsibility among those already involved in the community. Each barrier is discussed in detail and suggestions for decreasing the barriers are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 244 Rust-Schreiner Halls, 115 N. Orchard Street, Madison, WI 53715, USA. edoolin@wisc.edu
authors.forename: Erin M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Doolin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012649:Self Concept; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012933:Social Identification; D012944:Social Support