Indicators of Victimization and Sexual Orientation Among Adolescents: Analyses From Youth Risk Behavior Surveys

摘要

Objectives. We used nuanced measures of sexual minority status to examine disparities in victimization and their variations by gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Methods. We conducted multivariate analyses of pooled data from the 2005 and 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. Results. Although all sexual minorities reported more fighting, skipping school because they felt unsafe, and having property stolen or damaged at school than did heterosexuals, rates were highest among youths who identified as bisexual or who reported both male and female sexual partners. Gender differences among sexual minorities appeared to be concentrated among bisexuals and respondents who reported sexual partners of both genders. Sexual minority youths reported more fighting than heterosexual youths, especially at younger ages, and more nonphysical school victimization that persisted through adolescence. White and Hispanic sexual minority youths reported more indicators of victimization than did heterosexuals; we found few sexual minority differences among African American and Asian American youths. Conclusions. Victimization carries health consequences, and sexual minorities are at increased risk. Surveys should include measures that allow tracking of disparities in victimization by sexual minority status. Public attention to and scholarship on sexual minority youths grew significantly during the past decade 1 ; victimization has been the subject of a great deal of this interest. Numerous studies have documented higher rates of victimization of sexual minority, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), youths than of their heterosexual peers. Most previous studies relied on community samples or on samples of sexual minority youths recruited through LGBT organizations or online. Most notable among those is the biannual National School Climate Survey, conducted by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which has documented school-based victimization of LGBT youths for more than a decade. The 2011 survey of more than 7000 students, aged 13 to 21 years, showed that nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experience harassment at school. 2 Although a few population-based studies have examined victimization of sexual minority youths, these studies typically have several limitations. Some are limited to single-item measures of sexual minority status. 3 Experts argue that studies should measure multiple dimensions of sexual orientation (i.e., identity as well as behavior), 1 but studies that incorporate multiple measures are rare. Even in fairly large population-based samples, the prevalence of sexual minorities is low enough that LGB youths are combined into a single category for statistical analyses. 4,5 Multiple studies have documented strong gender differences in victimization among sexual minority youths: sexual minority adolescent boys report more victimization than do sexual minority adolescent girls. 5 Few studies have been able to disaggregate victimization experiences of sexual minority youths by age and race. A recent school-based population survey in Wisconsin found that homophobic attitudes decline from 7th to 12th grades. 6 Furthermore, analyses of the National School Climate Survey 2007 data showed that younger LGBT youths reported significantly more school victimization than did their older peers. 7 Data from the 2005 wave of the same survey showed that White, Native American, and multiracial LGBT students reported having property stolen or damaged at school more often than did other LGBT students. 8 Data from the 2007 wave of the survey showed that African American LGBT students were more likely than Whites to report anti-LGBT victimization at school. 7 This research from Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network was the first to show racial/ethnic group differences among LGBT students; we know of no published studies that make use of population-based data to examine racial/ethnic group differences in victimization. We used pooled Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data to examine differences in indicators of victimization by sexual identity and sexual behavior, as well as variability among sexual minorities by gender, age, and race/ethnicity.