Few researchers have examined the emotional consequences of day-to-day encounters with heterosexism, but many have noted the challenge of maintaining a positive sense of self in the face of chronic negative feedback based in heterosexist attitudes (e.g., Dean et al., 2000 Williamson, 2000). The experience of being stigmatized is at the root of a range of psychosocial health problems faced by sexual minority adolescents (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1993 Rotheram-Borus & Fernandez, 1995), including increased depression, suicidality, and other mental health disorders ( Meyer, 2003). One of the most daunting stressors gay and bisexual youth face is heterosexism, the ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes any non-heterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community ( Herek, 1990). To assist youth to cope successfully and thrive, service providers need a thorough understanding of the challenges they face, how they cope with them, and which coping strategies or combinations of strategies may be best suited to a particular stressor or situation. Gay and bisexual youth face an array of unique challenges in addition to many of the developmental stressors facing heterosexual adolescents.
