title: Individual and community resilience factors among lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and questioning youth and adults in Israel.
abstract: Drawing on resilience theories, this study examined the individual and community factors of Israeli lesbians, gays, bisexuals, queers, and questioning (LGBQs) that contribute to positive mental health and the degree to which individual and community protective factors mitigate the adverse effect of risk factors for poor mental health. Differences in resilience factors between LGBQ youth and adults were explored. Data were collected on 890 LGBQ youth and adults. Findings emphasize the role of community-level resilience factors in the lives of LGBQs, and that these support systems differ slightly between the two age groups. Among youth, family support was both a strong predictor for well-being and a protective factor for mental distress. Although family support was found as a resilience factor among adults as well, other community-level factors (friends' support, LGBT connectedness and having steady partner) were found as protective factors for poorer mental health. These findings suggest for efforts on fostering familial support for LGBQ youth and a multi-level system that offers support at the familial, peer, relationship and community levels for both LGBQ youth and adults.
authors.affiliation: Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel, shiloguy@post.tau.ac.il.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shilo
authors.forename: Nadav
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Antebi
authors.forename: Zohar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D063509:Homophobia / Q000523:psychology; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D065840:Protective Factors; D012929:Psychological Distance; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult