# Efficacy of a Multi-level School Intervention for LGBTQ Youth

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $670,632

## Abstract

Project Summary
The goal of this study is to test the efficacy of a theoretically informed, school-based intervention for sexual and
gender minority (SGM, e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) adolescents, Proud & Empowered (P&E).
Studies found that SGM students are 8 to 10 times more likely to experience victimization in schools than
heterosexuals, with rates even higher among transgender youth. This bias-based victimization, part of which is
commonly known as minority stress, has been cited as a participating factor in the substantial behavioral health
disparities SGM face when compared to their heterosexual counterparts, such as depression, anxiety, self-harm,
and suicidal ideation and attempt. These disparities are unique to SGM, as when compared to similarly victimized
non-SGM peers, victimized SGM adolescents report significantly higher rates of suicide. When schools lack
SGM bullying policies, SGM students are more likely to report suicidality than peers in schools with protective
policies. Studies also indicate that SGM victimization is more common in schools that lack protective policies
and resources such as gender and sexuality alliances (GSAs), SGM-specific antibullying guidelines, teacher and
staff training, and openly supportive allies. Therefore, it is clear that any intervention for SGM youth must
simultaneously (a) help SGM youth cope with the effects of minority stress and (b) work to reduce the likelihood
of future victimization by addressing school-level factors. The P&E intervention seeks to address these outcomes
through a novel multi-level school-based intervention. Supported by nine years of research including an NIH-
supported feasibility study conducted at four schools (1R21MD013971), we will determine the interventions'
efficacy by completing three specific aims: 1) Determine participant-level efficacy of the intervention in an RCT
with 24 schools. 2) Determine the schoolwide intervention effects on (a) reporting of minority stress and
behavioral health outcomes among all SGM students and (b) perceptions of school climate (i.e., norms, attitudes,
beliefs, bullying behavior toward SGMA, policies) among all students. 3) Examine factors that may affect
intervention success (e.g., fidelity of implementation, barriers or facilitators to implementation, school or student
characteristics) to prepare the intervention for future dissemination. Following the completion of all ten P&E
sessions, school-level factors will be addressed by student-led implementation of environmental change
strategies at the school focused on key domains of school climate: safety, relationships, teaching and learning,
and institutional environment. This innovative R01 application brings together a team of nationally recognized
minority stress and prevention science experts and responds to a nationally established public health need for
research from the National Academy of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health (NOT-MD-19-001), and the
Nation...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10366722
- **Project number:** 1R01MD016082-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeremy Thomas Goldbach
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $670,632
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-01-20 → 2026-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10366722

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10366722, Efficacy of a Multi-level School Intervention for LGBTQ Youth (1R01MD016082-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10366722. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*