Dissertation
Development of the Perceived Allyship for LGBTQ+ Youth (PAL+You) scale
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00010985
Abstract
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other gender and sexual minority (LGBTQ+) youth are subjected to several unique stressors, including discrimination, identity-based harassment, and sociopolitical factors that promote anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, increasing their risk for mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, and suicide. Numerous research studies over the past few decades have identified protective factors for LGBTQ+ youth mental health, including allyship. Although the protective impact of allyship for LGBTQ+ youth mental health is well-documented, there is a gap in the availability of tools to assess adolescents' perceptions of the adequacy and impact of received allyship attempts. The objective of the current study was to identify themes that comprise the construct of "perceived allyship" based on LGBTQ+ adolescents' qualitative descriptions and perspectives of effective and ineffective ally behaviors. The current study was phase one of an exploratory sequential mixed-methods research design, wherein qualitative interview data from the current study will be used in a future study to inform development and subsequent quantitative psychometric evaluation of a pilot assessment measure of perceived allyship. N = 14 LGBTQ+ adolescents, ages 15 - 17 years completed qualitative interviews via Zoom video conferencing platform to share their perspectives across three research areas: 1) effective or helpful ally behaviors, 2) ineffective or unhelpful ally behaviors (i.e., when the person thought they were acting like an ally, but their actions were experienced as unhelpful, unsupportive, or upsetting to the LGBTQ+ person), and 3) sources of allyship. Participants also completed a brief demographics questionnaire from which descriptive statistics were calculated for age, gender identity, sexual orientation, racial identity, ethnic identity, and highest level of education completed. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used for qualitative interview data. Several first-order inductive themes were coded from the qualitative data across three aggregate dimensions, including sixteen themes that reflect LGBTQ+ teenagers' perspectives on effective or helpful ally behaviors or characteristics, fourteen themes related to ineffective or unhelpful ally behaviors or characteristics, and three themes related to sources of allyship. Broadly, effective allyship was characterized by the ally: 1) demonstrating acceptance (vs. judgment or non-acceptance), 2) taking supportive action (vs. unhelpful actions), and 3) exercising skill and awareness (vs. lack of skill or awareness). Participants identified sources of allyship at both the personal and community level. This study addresses a gap in the literature by qualitatively examining the construct of perceived allyship within an LGBTQ+ youth population. Results hold several important implications for clinical practice, program development and evaluation, and future research efforts. Themes can be used in future research to develop and validate a psychometrically-sound measure of perceived allyship for LGBTQ+ youth.
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Details
- Title
- Development of the Perceived Allyship for LGBTQ+ Youth (PAL+You) scale
- Creators
- Shannon Grace Litke
- Contributors
- Brian P. Daly (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vii, 87 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022057738004721