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A Unique Support For Sexual-Minority Identity Development: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of A Long-Term Formal Mentoring Relationship Between An Adult And A Youth From The Gay Community, Christian L. Rummell

Dissertations and Theses

An important need exists to build a baseline understanding of the phenomenon of formal mentoring relationships involving adults and youth from the gay community. During the formative years when gay adolescents navigate through the process of understanding, defining, accepting, and sharing their identity as a sexual minority, they are often faced with high levels of environmental risks, including victimization, stress, and negative social sanctions by others. Formal mentoring has been recommended as a potential strategy to offer unique one-to-one support to gay youth that can help to foster resilience and a range of positive outcomes, including strengthening processes involved in …