Teacher-mentors and the educational resilience of sexual minority youth

Abstract

This is the first study to examine the benefits of informal mentoring on the educational resilience of sexual minority youth. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we show that having a mentor, especially one that is a teacher, is associated with higher levels of post-secondary participation for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Teacher-mentors are particularly significant to the educational resilience of sexual minority women of color. Unfortunately, sexual minority women of color are also the least likely to be mentored by teachers. Our findings underscore the urgency to understand how school- and community-based mentoring efforts can better meet and respond to the needs of sexual minority youth of color, especially women.