title: Predictors of feminist activism among sexual-minority and heterosexual college women.
abstract: Engagement in activism is related to several aspects of social development in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Therefore, it is important to examine the correlates of different forms of activism, such as feminist collective action, among all youth. However, previous research has not investigated young sexual-minority women's engagement with feminist collective action. This study examined predictors of college-aged heterosexual and sexual-minority women's commitment to and participation in feminist activism. Sexual orientation, number of years in college, social support, experiences with discrimination, and gender identity were tested as predictors of commitment to and participation in feminist activism with a sample of 280 college-aged women (173 heterosexuals and 107 sexual minorities). Similar predictors were related to both commitment to and participation in feminist activism. However, for sexual-minority women, but not heterosexual women, the number of years in college was correlated with participation in feminist activism. Young sexual-minority women reported more participation in feminist activism than did heterosexual women, even after controlling for social support, discrimination, and gender identity.
authors.affiliation: a Psychology Department, Mississippi State University at Meridian , Meridian , Mississippi , USA.
authors.forename: Carly K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ayres
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D019513:Feminism; D005783:Gender Identity; D020010:Heterosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D063509:Homophobia / Q000523:psychology; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008399:Mass Behavior; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012933:Social Identification; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult