Supporting LGBQ+ Students with Disabilities: Exploring the Experiences of Students Living on Campus

Abstract

STUDENTS WITH MULTIPLE OPPRESSED IDENTITIES, such as LGBQ+ students with disabilities, face a multitude of barriers on college campuses due to heterosexism and ableism, sometimes even from those in-group. This large-scale, multi-institution comparative quantitative study of LGBQ+ students with disabilities living on campus examines these students’ experiences with belonging and discrimination. Guided by the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity, we compare the experiences of students in the intersections of sexual and ability identities to guide housing and residence life practitioners in supporting students with complex identities. A series of chi-square (χ2) analyses and adjusted standardized residuals allowed us to explore the experiences of students who identify as LGBQ+ and without disabilities, as well as students who identify as straight with or without disabilities, in order to highlight the experiences of LGBQ+ students with disabilities. Findings indicate that LGBQ+ students most frequently report mental health disorders or multiple disabilities or impairments and that these students feel less physically safe, comfortable being themselves, like part of their campus communities, and valued by their institutions than their peers. Most troubling is the large proportion of LGBQ+ students with disabilities who have personally experienced offensive behavior, discrimination, or harassment at their institutions based on their sexual orientation. Implications focus on creating partnerships with mental health, disability services, and LGBTQ/Pride Center professionals; evaluating roommate matching policies; the proactive creation of support systems; and applying concepts of Universal Design.