Table 1.
Sample characteristics and responses to questionnaire items related to willingness to talk with school staff about safety, dating and relationships, or feeling attracted to other guys.
| Sample characteristics and responses to questionnaire items | |
|---|---|
| Age | % or X (n) |
| 13-15 | 8.9% (37) |
| 16-17 | 41.7% (173) |
| 18-19 | 48.9% (203) |
| I don’t want to say | 0.5% (2) |
| Mean age, full sample | 17.4 (413) |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| Black non-Latino | 60.2% (236) |
| Latino | 39.8% (156) |
| Sexual identity or orientation | |
| Gay | 68.9% (286) |
| Straight | 4.3% (18) |
| Bisexual | 19.8% (82) |
| I don’t know | 3.6% (15) |
| I don’t want to say | 0.7% (3) |
| Other | 2.7% (11) |
| Identified as YMSM a | 99.0% (411) |
| Felt unsafe at school in the last 18 months | |
| No | 71.2% (267) |
| Yes | 28.8% (108) |
| Staff member with whom youth were willing to talk to about… | |
| Being teased, called names, harmed, or being made to feel unsafe b | |
| Teacher | 37.1% (141) |
| School counselor | 45.6% (182) |
| School nurse | 16.0% (64) |
| Other school staff member | 26.8% (107) |
| I would not talk to any staff at my school | 27.8% (111) |
| I don’t want to say | 9.5% (38) |
| Dating and relationshipsb | |
| Teacher | 30.6% (122) |
| School counselor | 36.8% (147) |
| School nurse | 10.5% (42) |
| Other school staff member | 18.3% (73) |
| I would not talk to any staff at my school | 35.1% (140) |
| I don’t want to say | 8.0% (32) |
| Feeling attracted to other guysb | |
| Teacher | 25.1% (100) |
| School counselor | 38.3%(153) |
| School nurse | 13.3% (53) |
| Other school staff member | 15.5% (62) |
| I would not talk to any staff at my school | 34.3% (137) |
| I don’t want to say | 10.3% (41) |
|
Calculatedc
willingness to talk with any school staff about safety, same sex attraction or dating/relationships |
|
| Yes | 75.1% (266) |
| No | 24.9% (88) |
|
How much would you trust information from… Mean Score, (1 Not at all, 2 A little, 3 Some, 4 A lot) |
|
| Teacher | 2.46 (333) |
| School Counselor | 2.63 (340) |
| School Nurse | 2.48 (320) |
| Calculated Meand Score Trust Information from Any School Staff | 2.53 (351) |
Note: Percentages and means are based on valid cases; missing data has been excluded from calculated variables.
Calculated YMSM = Respondents indicating “attraction to guys or both guys and girls”; OR orientation as gay or bisexual; OR that they would most like to have sex with guys, guys and girls, transguys, or transgirls; OR have had sex with guys, transguys, or transgirls.
Questions were multiple responses; therefore, total percentages will not add up to 100%.
Calculated proportion = Respondents reporting willingness to speak with any school staff (teachers, counselors, nurses, or other school staff) about being 1) being teased, called names, harmed, or being made to feel unsafe, 2) dating or relationships, or 3) feeling attracted to other guys.