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Newswise — Compared to their cisgender/heterosexual peers, LGBTQ+ college students are at an elevated risk of substance use and mental health challenges. While collegiate recovery programs provide an array of support to students in recovery from substance use disorders, scarce research has examined the unique needs of LGBTQ+ students within this population. New findings regarding the psychosocial and recovery functioning of LGBTQ+ and cisgender/heterosexual students receiving support will be shared on Sunday, 23 June 2024 at the 47th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“LGBTQ+ college students in general experience higher levels of discrimination based on their gender identity or sexual orientation,” explained Mer Francis, assistant professor of social work at Virginia Commonwealth University, “and are more likely to have experienced various forms of trauma such as bullying, rejection from family members and peers, and unstable housing prior to entering college than average college students. These compounded experiences of trauma and discrimination are related to [having] nearly 2.5 times the risk of developing a substance use disorder, and about 2.3 times the risk of developing a mood disorder during their lifetime.
Francis noted that a large percentage of participants in his study identified as LGBTQ+: 40.6% overall; 38.9% lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer; and 16.8% transgender or gender-expansive. “This is comparable to what we are seeing in the general college population these days,” he said. “This is a large portion of the collegiate recovery population that we don’t know all that much about, and it is important for recovery directors to know what their specific needs are so they can tailor programming to meet those needs.”
Francis and his colleagues examined participant data for 529 students from the National Longitudinal Collegiate Recovery Study that was drawn from 58 collegiate recovery programs across the US, Canada, and the UK. Participants shared their life experiences, including time abstinent, mental health history, grade point average, access to support, stability and resources, as well as the extent to which they felt their identity was supported during recovery.
Francis said there were three key findings. “One, while LGBTQ+ college students in recovery tend to have less severe substance use disorders than their non-LGBTQ+ peers, they may need additional support for mental health disorders. Two, more LGBTQ+ students were in early recovery compared to cisgender/heterosexual students, while more cisgender/heterosexual students were in stable recovery after five years than LGBTQ+ students. Three, collegiate recovery programs are doing a good job of supporting their LGBTQ+ students and their identities.”
Francis expects these findings will help directors of collegiate recovery programs and other service providers who support students in recovery. “These providers can use this information to tailor programming to meet the specific needs of LGBTQ+ students by creating identity-specific recovery groups where students can share common experiences, increasing linkages to services for mental health and trauma experiences, and examining staffing, policies, and practices that may help LGBTQ+ students feel more welcomed and supported.”