Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adolescent School Victimization: Implications for Young Adult Health and Adjustment
TL;DR: Reducing LGBT-related school victimization will likely result in significant long-term health gains and will reduce health disparities for LGBT people, and should be educational and public health priorities.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Adolescent school victimization due to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) status is commonplace, and is associated with compromised health and adjustment. Few studies have examined the long-term implications of LGBT school victimization for young adult adjustment. We examine the association between reports of LGBT school victimization and young adult psychosocial health and risk behavior. METHODS: The young adult survey from the Family Acceptance Project included 245 LGBT young adults between the ages of 21 and 25 years, with an equal proportion of Latino and non-Latino White respondents. A 10-item retrospective scale assessed school victimization due to actual or perceived LGBT identity between the ages of 13 and 19 years. Multiple regression was used to test the association between LGBT school victimization and young adult depression, suicidal ideation, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and social integration, while controlling for background characteristics. Logistic regression was used to examine young adult suicide attempts, clinical levels of depression, heavy drinking and substance use problems, sexually transmitted disease (STD) diagnoses, and self-reported HIV risk. RESULTS: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-related school victimization is strongly linked to young adult mental health and risk for STDs and HIV; there is no strong association with substance use or abuse. Elevated levels of depression and suicidal ideation among males can be explained by their high rates of LGBT school victimization.
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TL;DR: Socially transitioned transgender children who are supported in their gender identity have developmentally normative levels of depression and only minimal elevations in anxiety, suggesting that psychopathology is not inevitable within this group.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Transgender children who have socially transitioned, that is, who identify as the gender “opposite” their natal sex and are supported to live openly as that gender, are increasingly visible in society, yet we know nothing about their mental health. Previous work with children with gender identity disorder (GID; now termed gender dysphoria) has found remarkably high rates of anxiety and depression in these children. Here we examine, for the first time, mental health in a sample of socially transitioned transgender children. METHODS: A community-based national sample of transgender, prepubescent children ( n = 73, aged 3–12 years), along with control groups of nontransgender children in the same age range ( n = 73 age- and gender-matched community controls; n = 49 sibling of transgender participants), were recruited as part of the TransYouth Project. Parents completed anxiety and depression measures. RESULTS: Transgender children showed no elevations in depression and slightly elevated anxiety relative to population averages. They did not differ from the control groups on depression symptoms and had only marginally higher anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Socially transitioned transgender children who are supported in their gender identity have developmentally normative levels of depression and only minimal elevations in anxiety, suggesting that psychopathology is not inevitable within this group. Especially striking is the comparison with reports of children with GID; socially transitioned transgender children have notably lower rates of internalizing psychopathology than previously reported among children with GID living as their natal sex.
589 citations
TL;DR: Weighted multivariable logistic regression models investigated disparities in substance use and tested a gender minority social stress hypothesis, supporting the use of gender minority stress perspectives in designing early interventions aimed at addressing the negative health sequelae of bullying and harassment.
Abstract: Bullying and substance use represent serious public health issues facing adolescents in the United States. Few large-sample national studies have examined differences in these indicators by gender identity. The Teen Health and Technology Study (N = 5,542) sampled adolescents ages 13 to 18 years old online. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models investigated disparities in substance use and tested a gender minority social stress hypothesis, comparing gender minority youth (i.e., who are transgender/gender nonconforming and have a gender different from their sex assigned at birth) and cisgender (i.e., whose gender identity or expression matches theirs assigned at birth). Overall, 11.5% of youth self-identified as gender minority. Gender minority youth had increased odds of past-12-month alcohol use, marijuana use, and nonmarijuana illicit drug use. Gender minority youth disproportionately experienced bullying and harassment in the past 12 months, and this victimization was associated with increased odds of all substance use indicators. Bullying mediated the elevated odds of substance use for gender minority youth compared to cisgender adolescents. Findings support the use of gender minority stress perspectives in designing early interventions aimed at addressing the negative health sequelae of bullying and harassment.
375 citations
Additional excerpts
...Gender minority youth experience high rates of bullying, harassment, and other types of peer victimization (Greytak, Kosciw, & Diaz, 2009; Grossman & D’Augelli, 2006, 2007; Grossman, D’Augelli, & Frank, 2011; McGuire, Anderson, Toomey, & Russell, 2010; Russell et al., 2011; Toomey, Ryan, Diaz, Card, & Russell, 2010)....
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...…experience high rates of bullying, harassment, and other types of peer victimization (Greytak, Kosciw, & Diaz, 2009; Grossman & D’Augelli, 2006, 2007; Grossman, D’Augelli, & Frank, 2011; McGuire, Anderson, Toomey, & Russell, 2010; Russell et al., 2011; Toomey, Ryan, Diaz, Card, & Russell, 2010)....
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TL;DR: It is argued that routine collection of gender identity data could advance the understanding of mental health risk and resilience factors among TGNC populations, and to describe what gaps persist in this literature.
337 citations
TL;DR: The results support the minority stress hypothesis that targeted harassment and victimization are partly responsible for the higher levels of depressive symptoms and suicidality found in sexual minority youth.
Abstract: Sexual minority youth (youth who are attracted to the same sex or endorse a gay/lesbian/bisexual identity) report significantly higher rates of depression and suicidality than heterosexual youth. The minority stress hypothesis contends that the stigma and discrimination experienced by sexual minority youth create a hostile social environment that can lead to chronic stress and mental health problems. The present study used longitudinal mediation models to directly test sexual minority-specific victimization as a potential explanatory mechanism of the mental health disparities of sexual minority youth. One hundred ninety-seven adolescents (14–19 years old; 70 % female; 29 % sexual minority) completed measures of sexual minority-specific victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality at two time points 6 months apart. Compared to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth reported higher levels of sexual minority-specific victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality. Sexual minority-specific victimization significantly mediated the effect of sexual minority status on depressive symptoms and suicidality. The results support the minority stress hypothesis that targeted harassment and victimization are partly responsible for the higher levels of depressive symptoms and suicidality found in sexual minority youth. This research lends support to public policy initiatives that reduce bullying and hate crimes because reducing victimization can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of sexual minority youth.
321 citations
TL;DR: There is fairly strong evidence thatpeer victimization related to sexual orientation and gender identity or expression is associated with a diminished sense of school belonging and higher levels of depressive symptoms; findings regarding the relationship between peer victimization and suicidality have been more mixed.
Abstract: This article reviews research on psychosocial and health outcomes associated with peer victimization related to adolescent sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Using four electroni...
289 citations
Cites background from "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transge..."
...Peer victimization did not predict heavy drinking or substance abuse in young adulthood (Russell et al., 2011)....
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TL;DR: The CES-D scale as discussed by the authors is a short self-report scale designed to measure depressive symptomatology in the general population, which has been used in household interview surveys and in psychiatric settings.
Abstract: The CES-D scale is a short self-report scale designed to measure depressive symptomatology in the general population. The items of the scale are symptoms associated with depression which have been used in previously validated longer scales. The new scale was tested in household interview surveys and in psychiatric settings. It was found to have very high internal consistency and adequate test- retest repeatability. Validity was established by pat terns of correlations with other self-report measures, by correlations with clinical ratings of depression, and by relationships with other variables which support its construct validity. Reliability, validity, and factor structure were similar across a wide variety of demographic characteristics in the general population samples tested. The scale should be a useful tool for epidemiologic studies of de pression.
48,339 citations
TL;DR: A meta-analytic review of cross-sectional studies of the association of peer victimization with psychosocial maladjustment suggested that victimization is most strongly related to depression, and least stronglyrelated to anxiety.
Abstract: Cross-sectional quantitative designs are often used to investigate whether peer victimization is positively related to psychosocial maladjustment. This paper presents a meta-analytic review of cross-sectional studies, published between 1978 and 1997, of the association of peer victimization with psychosocial maladjustment. Mean effect sizes were calculated for the association between peer victimization and each form of maladjustment (depression, loneliness, generalized and social anxiety, and global and social self-worth) assessed. The results suggested that victimization is most strongly related to depression, and least strongly related to anxiety. There was no evidence that victimization is more strongly related to social than to psychological forms of maladjustment. Effect sizes were stronger when the same informants were used to assess both victimization and maladjustment than when different informants were used. There were some design limitations to the studies reviewed, but all together their results provide a strong background for more complex research into the course and treatment of victims' distress.
2,603 citations
TL;DR: The CES-D Scale is acceptable and reliable in all the groups studied, and the scores of the junior high school group may be inflated by an excess of transient symptoms and should be interpreted with caution, but the scale seems to be very suitable for the high school and older groups.
Abstract: The existence of depression in children and adolescents is well established, but debate remains about the phenomenology of the depressive syndrome in the young. In order to discover possible age differences in rates and etiology, the definition and measurement of depression must be comparable across the ages to be studied. A widely used self-report depression symptom scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale, was administered to convenient (and not necessarily representative) samples of high school and college students. The scores and patterns of responses to the 20 symptom items of the scale were compared with already existing data from junior high school students, from depressed patients, and from a representative community sample of adults and young adults. The results of the analyses suggest that the CES-D Scale is acceptable and reliable in all the groups studied. The scores of the junior high school group may be inflated by an excess of transient symptoms and should be interpreted with caution, but the scale seems to be very suitable for the high school and older groups.
1,821 citations
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the intersections of gender, sexuality, and age in fieldwork with adolescents. But they focus on the intersection between gender, identity, and sexual orientation.
Abstract: Introduction: Making masculinity : adolescence, identity, and high school -- Becoming Mr. Cougar : institutionalizing gender and sexuality at River High -- Dude, you're a fag : male adolescent homophobia -- Compulsive heterosexuality : masculinity and dominance -- Look at my masculinity! : girls who act like boys -- Conclusion: Thinking about schooling, gender, and sexuality -- Appendix A: What if a guy hits on you? : intersections of gender, sexuality, and age in fieldwork with adolescents -- Appendix B: Resources.
1,462 citations