The majority of school counselors in Indiana want more help from public schools and local communities to assist gay and lesbian teens during the often traumatic teen years, says a new study from Ball State University.

In a statewide survey of 118 high school and middle school counselors, Ball State health educator Martin Wood found that only 14.4 percent claim to possess adequate skills to assist gay and lesbian students deal with their problems. An overwhelming majority of counselors wanted access to more training and educational programs.

"Adolescence is a time of enormous change for youth," Wood said. "Physical changes, social upheaval, increased academic pressure at school and the accelerating influence of peers all contribute to making adolescence a stressful time. The challenges faced by nearly all teens are tremendously exaggerated for gay adolescents.

"Most school counselors are extremely concerned about dealing with gay and lesbian students because of these health risks these students face," he said. "Counselors want more training and education to help these students. They also want more resources within the community that you would find in communities that are often more gay-friendly."

Woods' survey found:

• About 80 percent of counselors reported dealing professionally with gay and lesbian students.
• About 97 percent of respondents believe it is the school counselor's role to counsel gay and lesbian students, but 80.5 believed that such services should only be offered when requested by the student.
• Sixty percent of respondents said they enjoyed counseling gay and lesbian students.
• The majority of counselors (92.6 percent in rural areas and 77.1 percent in urban areas) said there are inadequate community resources to assist gay and lesbian students.
• Counselors report that gay and lesbian students in urban areas were more likely to seek out assistance as compared to students in rural communities (93 to 84 percent).

There were few differences between the responses from urban and rural school counselors. However, when it came to resources, the majority of rural counselors rely heavily on professional journals as a source of information to assist gay and lesbian students while urban counselors turn to workshops and professional conferences.

When it comes to providing support groups to assist troubled teens, Wood said there are few such organizations in Indiana's rural communities as compared to larger urban areas. 

The study found that 51 percent of urban school counselors had referred students to a support group while only 26.8 percent in rural communities had done so.

"In a time when such shows as 'Will and Grace' and 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' have achieved widespread acceptance and an enormous national audience, you would think that we would be more understanding, but this has not been the case in  conservative areas like Indiana," he said. "Ultimately, we need to provide support services for all types of students."

For more information, contact Wood.