Explaining effective mental health support for LGBTQ+ youth: A meta-narrative review

This meta-narrative review on mental health early intervention support for LGBTQ+ youth aimed to develop a theoretical framework to explain effective mental health support. Using the RAMESES standards for metanarrative reviews, we identified studies from database searches and citation-tracking. Data extraction and synthesis was conducted through conceptual coding in Atlas.ti. in two stages: 1) conceptual mapping of the metanarratives; 2) comparing the key concepts across the meta-narratives to produce a theoretical framework. In total, 2951 titles and abstracts were screened and 200 full papers reviewed. 88 studies were included in the final review. Stage 1 synthesis identified three meta-narratives - psychological, psycho-social, and social/youth work. Stage 2 synthesis resulted in a non-pathological theoretical framework for mental health support that acknowledged the intersectional aspects of LGBTQ+ youth lives, and placed youth at the centre of their own mental health care. The study of LGBTQ+ youth mental health has largely occurred independently across a range of disciplines such as psychology, sociology, public health, social work and youth studies. The interdisciplinary theoretical framework produced indicates that effective early intervention mental health support for LGBTQ+ youth must prioritise addressing normative environments that marginalises youth, LGBTQ+ identities and mental health problems.