What Changes During Adolescence?

Find a therapist to support kids and teens

A new study finds LGBTQ+ teens with higher self-esteem can better manage the anxiety of starting high school.

A related study finds cisgender straight students open to LGBTQ+ peers improved their social well-being.

The findings support school-based efforts to promote self-esteem and affirming environments.

Starting high school is hard for many kids; for LGBTQ+ teens, the transition can be particularly daunting.

In many school districts, students move from a smaller middle school to a larger high school. They are introduced to new social structures and more rigorous academics while experiencing the physical and emotional changes that accompany adolescence. Often, high school provides a more diverse environment, including greater exposure to students who identify as LGBTQ+.

New research from the PRIDE Lab under the direction of Dr. Adam Hoffman and lead by doctoral candidate Robert Klein in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University looks at the changes that occur for both LGBTQ+ and cisgender heterosexual high school students during their first years of high school. Specifically for LGBTQ+ teens, research finds that higher self-esteem – defined as how positively someone views themselves – is linked to lower anxiety and meaningful declines in anxiety over time. And, in a separate study, cisgender heterosexual adolescents who became more open to LGBTQ+ peers over time also reported higher social well-being.

The findings come from two new studies that followed more than 400 students from 38 schools through their first 18 months of high school.

In a first study, researchers surveyed 367 cisgender heterosexual and LGBTQ+ teens — with an average age of 14 — five times over their first 18 months of high school. All students entered high school with some anxiety symptoms. However, LGBTQ+ adolescents entered high school with significantly higher anxiety symptoms than their cisgender heterosexual peers. Even though anxiety symptoms of LGBTQ+ students declined over the course of the study, they remained significantly higher than those of cisgender heterosexual students, whose anxiety was stable.

Notably, only LGBTQ+ adolescents with high self-esteem showed significant decreases in anxiety over the course of the study. Cisgender heterosexual adolescents with higher self-esteem reported fewer anxiety symptoms, but this group didn’t see decreases in symptoms.

"We found that symptoms of anxiety are universally experienced," said Robert Klein. "But having strong self-esteem is very protective, particularly for LGBTQ youth."

Openness Benefits Everyone

The second study focused on straight and cisgender students. This study used a concept called "other group orientation,” which was previously applied in research on race and ethnicity; this study is the first time researchers used this concept related to gender identity and sexual orientation.

In the study, researchers measured students’ willingness to engage with and get to know LGBTQ+ peers.

They found small increases in LGBTQ+ other-group orientation, indicating that students became more open over time, likely reflecting greater exposure to LGBTQ+ peers. These increases in openness were associated with higher social well-being, including feeling more connected to others and to their broader community.

"When you get to high school, sometimes it's a lot more visible who is LGBTQ, and you might find that friends come out who you want to support," Klein said. "There seems to be this exposure effect — as people are around these identities more, they become more positively oriented toward them. I think that's because they're able to find that common humanity and see that everyone is a person."

What Changes During Adolescence?

Find a therapist to support kids and teens

The findings support school-based efforts to promote self-esteem and affirming environments, particularly for LGBTQ+ youth. This could include classroom instruction, peer support groups, and antibullying policies.

The take-home message: The transition to high school is stressful for many adolescents. This research identifies two factors that can make the transition easier: a strong and positive sense of self and genuine openness to the people around you. For LGBTQ teens, self-esteem can serve as a powerful buffer against anxiety. And for cisgender heterosexual teens, welcoming a more diverse social world expands their own sense of social well-being and connection.

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