It's difficult to be gay in high school. So can anything help against bullying and intolerance in schools right now?

Yes, as it turns out, there is something: just the presence of a gay-straight alliance in school goes a long way toward easing the problems that often confront gay teens, a large scale survey just found.

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In schools that have formed gay-straight alliances, LGBTQ students reported significantly fewer incidences of bullying based on gender expression or sexual orientation, the study found.

How much of a difference? Quite a bit, it seems.

If you're a gay teen at a school with a gay-straight alliance, you were 52 percent less likely to hear homophobic remarks; 36 percent less likely to fear for your personal safety; and 30 percent less likely to be victimized.

In short, gay teens also had a greater sense of personal safety in schools with such alliances compared to schools without them, the study found.

The study covered responses from tens of thousands of high school students. It was a meta-analysis of 15 independent studies, published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. That sort of analysis – by Robert Marx and Heather Hensman Kettrey of Vanderbilt University's Peabody Research Institute - is broad enough that these findings are likely universal.

But why would the mere presence of an alliance have such an effect?

"Having a GSA (gay-straight alliance) can send a strong message to all students that their school is a welcoming place where all people are accepted and that homophobic acts will not be tolerated," said Kettrey.

If the findings hold up, such alliances should be replicated elsewhere. "LGBTQ students are at an increased risk of victimization in high schools, and our work suggests that GSAs might be a promising solution to this problem," Kettrey said.

Even more interesting is that such alliances benefited students who were straight and didn't take part in such alliances, the survey also found.

"It was interesting to find that the presence of a GSA was associated with lower levels of victimization for all students, without distinguishing between students who did and did not participate in the group," Kettrey said.

But forming alliances in schools across the country may not be easy. While GSAs are protected under a federal statute (the Equal Access Act), parent groups have found creative ways to block them in some parts of the country.

Marx, who'd been a high school English teacher in Boston, said he'd come across this problem during his time as a GSA faculty advisor.

"When I was teaching, I talked to a lot of parents who were afraid the group would be a distraction, or worse, some kind of conversion program or incentive for students to behave in a way they normally wouldn't," Marx said.

"But the reality was just the opposite. With LGBTQ and straight peers supporting each other, students blossomed, grew, and became more confident—and felt safer at school. I've seen GSAs have a positive impact on students' lives, and having the data back that up was exciting to see."

Other studies have shown the debilitating effects of homophobic victimization in high schools - gay students who are victimized are at risk of substance abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts.

So creating a safe place where students can simply talk, or receive support, can reduce those risks, this survey clearly shows.