For example, Arnold, Rebchook, and Kegeles (2014), speak to the experience of Black, gay, HIV-positive young men feeling “triply cursed” via marginalization in their Black communities and families for their sexual identity and/or HIV status, while also struggling with broader societal racism. This impact of racism and heterosexism, as manifest in less reliable and supportive microsystems, can lead to disproportionally negative health outcomes, such as susceptibility to the growing HIV pandemic. Moreover, the loss of expected family and communal support (Chatters, Taylor, & Joyakody, 1994 as cited by Wynn, Filmore, & Paladino, 2014) has a significant impact on their well-being and identity development. The ecological effects of a society that historically and currently marginalizes Black GBT youth leave them at risk for isolation, estrangement, and increased vulnerability ( Martinez & Sullivan, 1998 as cited by Wynn, Filmore, & Paladino, 2014).
Given their need to carefully navigate multiple settings, the ecological perspective on human development ( Bronfenbrenner, 1979) is relevant, as these youth often lack stable, supportive home environments – the typical centre-most microsystem of a “nested” hierarchical structure of contexts or systems. Two theoretical perspectives may particularly inform the understanding of Black GBT youth’s contextually-situated development. Efforts to better understand such phenomena are therefore warranted. While differing in the relevant demographic variables, such multiple minority dynamics, and their associated risks and consequences, might reasonably repeat globally. Specifically, Jamil, Harper and Fernandez (2009) discuss the challenges faced by multiple minority individuals, wherein sexual minority youth may not feel comfortable in their ethnic communities potentially demonstrating heterosexism or homophobia, while those same youths’ marginalized ethnic identities may encounter discrimination in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) contexts dominated by Whites. For example, Black gay, bisexual, or transgendered (GBT) youth in the United States often need to navigate communities that may simultaneously value one aspect of their emerging identities while subjugating another ( Harper, 2007 Garafalo & Harper, 2003 Martinez & Sullivan 1998). While this line of inquiry is relevant for all youth, the exploration of contextually-informed development may be especially important for multiply marginalized youth.
In addition to inquiries exploring broader cross-national or cultural differences in adolescent development, studies may focus on understanding the risks inherent to narrower contexts, such as increased risk for drug use among inner city youth ( Lerner & Galambos, 1998 Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000 Aneshensel & Sucoff, 1996) or studies focusing upon identifying endogenous or implemented contexts that might foster adaptive development, such as programs fostering healthy parental behaviours in the home or broader safety in schools and communities ( Larson, 2000 Youngblade et al. While often varying by global region, nation, or culture, adolescence is universally a period of significant physical, cognitive, and social change, with increasing research attention paid to understanding how varying contexts may influence individual development ( Smetana, Campione-Barr, & Metzger, 2006 Steinberg & Morris, 2001).