A Survey of School Psychologists' Practices When Serving LGBTQ Students

The current study investigated beliefs, training, exposure, and barriers among 100 school psychologists' clinical practice when serving LGBTQ students. Two hypotheses were tested to address gaps in the existing literature. The first hypothesis examined if school psychologists' beliefs, training, and exposure to LGBTQ individuals predicted practices when serving LGBTQ youth. The second hypothesis examined if clinical practices with LGBTQ youth were related to the number of barriers. The present study utilized a self-reporting tool with established statistical validity, incorporating a social desirability measure to account for inherent methodological constraints. Additionally, efforts were made to ensure a more geographically representative sample. The multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant collective influence of training, beliefs, and exposure on predicting clinical practice; however, a Spearman rank correlation analysis revealed no significant correlation between clinical practices and barriers. Findings provide a nuanced understanding of factors influencing school psychologists' clinical practices with LGBTQ students and emphasize the need for further research in this area to support LGBTQ students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]