This editorial describes the barriers that exist to carrying out research with gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. It also discusses why it is important to promote research to this group. Describes the articles that address some of the issues related to this population in this volume of the Journal of Adolescence. (MKA)

Scientists should reconsider traditional empirical and theoretical paradigms that narrowly define sexual-minority adolescents in terms of those who adopt a culturally defined sexual identity label such as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. This will lead to a different understanding of sexual-minority youths than is apparent in most published studies.…

Reviews the research indicating the incidence rates and specific suicide risks for suicide in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning (GLBQ) adolescent population. Presents an ecological model of suicide risk assessment for GLBQ youth. The model is based on Bronfenbrenner's model of human development and argues for individual, micro, and macro…

Proposes visibility management as a key construct in gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) identity development. Visibility management refers to the dynamic, ongoing process by which GLB youth make careful, planned decisions about whether they will disclose their sexual orientation, to whom and how they disclose, and how they continue to monitor the…

Adolescents (N=377) listed the perjoratives they heard at school and identified the ones they considered most taboo. Homophobic perjoratives accounted for 10% of the 6,000 items generated, but were rated much less seriously than either racist abuse or other taboo slang. Boys reported more homophobic perjoratives than girls, but rated them more…

Examines school troubles, attitudes, and performance of same-sex attracted youth within the context of four relational domains: family, teacher, social, and peer. Results indicate that each domain plays a role in the negative attitudes about school held by sexual minority youth. However, feelings about teachers play an important role in explaining…

Examined cognitive-behavioral (health-belief, social cognitive, peer support), risk-taking, and stress/coping models as predictors of safer sex practices among 136 gay/bisexual males, ages 14-19. Components of the health-belief, self-efficacy theories, and emotional distress models corresponded with safer sex practices; peer support was not…