How can schools, teachers, professionals, parents, and young people ensure that all youth, regardless of their sexual or gender preferences, feel at home and thrive? How do we equip LGBTQ+ youth with resilience and help them break free from vicious cycles? And what does this require from policy and practice? These are the core focus areas of my research and its application in practice. In summary, I study bullying, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and resilience, exploring what is needed to achieve these goals, and integrate this knowledge into practice and education. My work emphasizes:
- Collaboration with key societal organizations (e.g., Stichting School en Veiligheid, COC, NJI), policymakers (municipalities, Ministry of Education), schools/teachers, and the media (e.g., NOS Jeugdjournaal, Klokhuis) to provide structural support for youth and their environments to feel safe and happy, based on scientific knowledge. For specific examples, see “Activities” and “In the media.”
- Engagement within international scientific communities to advance understanding of the needs of LGBTQ+ youth. I represent LGBTQ+ themes through my leadership roles in international scientific organizations (e.g., Associate Editor of Journal of Research on Adolescence, Co-Chair of SRCD Sex/Gender panel) and my active participation in inter-university and international scientific networks (e.g., SRCD). As the project leader of a transdisciplinary consortium, I study the effects and key components of a program aimed at enhancing social safety and inclusion.
- A focus on diversity and inclusion in my teaching and supervision of postdocs and PhD candidates. Examples include our USO grant for inclusion in the bachelor’s program and my coordination of the international Developmental Psychopathology course (500+ students) with a focus on diversity. As an interdisciplinary researcher, I promote exchange between programs, such as through my coordination of the interdisciplinary Honors program.
Feel free to contact me if you are a researcher or if, from your policy position or practical work, you are interested in collaboration or workshops on bullying and inclusion for LGBTQ+ youth:
t.m.l.kaufman@uu.nl, 0619572705.