ABSTRACT
Adolescence is a complicated life stage marked by significant struggle to find self-identity. The tendency in childhood to rely on parents and/or family systems for the validation of identity shifts in adolescence to a critical focus on peers. In turn, a positive, supportive social peer group becomes important. Thus, developmental tasks such as acquiring social skills, achieving intimacy, and building a sense of cohesion or wholeness of self are increasingly performed in the context of the peer system (Robinson, 1991). While all adolescents pass through the same biological and cognitive stages of change, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth face unique challenges concerning their social-emotional development. The primary developmental task for LGBTQ adolescents is adjustment to a socially stigmatized role (Hetrick & Martin, 1987).
