Setting the Stage to Flourish: Supporting LGBTQIA2S+ Graduate Students.

The lived experiences of LGBTQIA2S+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two Spirit) doctoral students remain an area for deeper exploration and understanding in the higher education landscape. Higher education administrators and faculty often focus on the well-being and social integration of undergraduate students where the greatest source of revenue is generated. To this end, our story about how doctoral students can educate faculty in this space is of great significance. The term student-centered is often used generically, but each student's center and lived experience are not the same. To be a true student advocate for the LGBTQIA2S+ population involves vulnerability, unearthing uncomfortable truths, and active listening. Thus, support can be an inherently kind word or one that is empty blanket terminology for being nice. We (the faculty) want to do more than be nice, smile politely, and pretend to understand the student; this takes effort, altruism, character, and the ability to say teach me about your lived experiences. The student has to feel a high level of trust and the depth of fortitude to tell their truths that are often painful and not articulated to more than two or three close others, much less faculty members. This article focuses on the lived experiences of two straight faculty and a doctoral student who is part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. We share our collective narratives, so that you can build yours.

The Association of Emotional and Physical Reactions to Perceived Discrimination with Depressive Symptoms Among African American Men in the Southeast.

This study examines the association of emotional and physical reactions to perceived discrimination with depressive symptoms among a sample of African American (AA) men in the southeastern United States. Analysis of the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data set provides an examination of demographic, perceived discrimination context, and health status differences in depressive symptoms measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2). The analysis also assesses individual differences among AA men related to experiencing physical symptoms and feeling emotionally upset due to perceived discrimination. A focused examination investigates the role of adverse reactions to perceived discrimination in association with depressive symptomology. Findings illuminate the significance of experiences of and reactions to perceived discrimination in relationship with depressive symptomology among AA men living in the southeastern United States. Findings also demonstrate the need for additional research focusing on perceived discrimination experiences in relation to depressive symptoms experienced among the AA male subgroup. Continued investigation of within-group differences among AA men, with health promotional strategies to foster social-emotional support, will further the improvement in health and wellness for AA men.