A National Symposium Shed Light on How to Better Reduce LGBTQ Bullying :

The rising incidence in the bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer children and adolescents and the resulting complications of such bullying in this population is a great concern, not only in this country but internationally. To address this, Earnshaw et al. (10.1542/peds.2017-0432) share with us a special article summarizing the key take-home recommendations and suggestions form a national symposium involving pediatricians, medical and public health students, interdisciplinary researchers, government officials, school leaders, community members and of course parents and youth themselves from all over the country. The 2016 symposium, entitled “LGBTQ Bullying: Translating Research to Action to Improve the Health of All Youth”  uses research on LGBTQ bullying rates and interventions, to help pediatricians better understand what strategies to consider to reduce the frequency of this problem. The authors also share how to implement these strategies into your practice to foster even more inclusive environments for LGBTQ youth to feel comfortable sharing their bullying experiences, and for you to be ready to help them overcome them and develop the strengths and resilience to not just survive but thrive as they move forward with their lives.  This is a special article that is rich with great evidence-based information that hopefully you and your practice colleagues will find useful, so check out this special article and learn more.