By Alan Mozes

Lesbian, gay and bisexual teens are far more likely than their straight peers to suffer physical and/or sexual violence, new research warns. The warning stems from surveys of nearly 29,000 teens, aged 14 to 18, conducted in 2015 and 2017 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall, LGBQ teens (lesbian, gay, bisexual and teens who are questioning their sexuality) face roughly twice the risk of physical violence compared with straight youth, the surveys revealed. And that risk can come from a romantic partner -- or anyone else.

Lead author Theodore Caputi said the study is the first to use a recent, nationally representative sample to gauge the scope of physical and sexual violence among LGBQ teens. He described the findings as "striking."

Caputi is a research consultant with the Health Equity Research Lab at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

"Unfortunately, physical and sexual violence are commonplace in the daily lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning adolescents," he said. Read more via USA Today

Caputi TL, Shover CL, Watson RJ. Physical and Sexual Violence Among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Questioning Adolescents. JAMA Pediatr. Published online March 09, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.6291

Physical and sexual violence are known public health hazards,imposing substantial physical and emotional burdens on those who have experienced such violence. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning adolescents are believed to be at higher risk than their heterosexual peers for violence. However, no nationally representative study has examined the holistic risk of violence to sexual minority adolescents, and some forms of violence (eg, sexual assault by a stranger), to our knowledge, have not been assessed. We used data from the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), conducted every 2 years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to quantify the risk of physical and sexual violence faced by sexual minority adolescents attending high schools in the United States.

Discussion

Sexual minority adolescents—particularly bisexual youth—are at an elevated risk for both physical and sexual violence. Given the substantial physical and emotional consequences of violence for those subjected to it and the large existing health disparities among sexual minority adolescents, addressing both physical and sexual violence against sexual minority adolescents should become a public health priority.

This study has some limitations. Self-reports are subject to misreporting and bias. Students who reported “not sure” may have been questioning their sexuality or unsure of the question. The YRBS does not collect information on transgender individuals; thus, we cannot assess their risk. This study was cross-sectional, and we cannot make causal claims about its findings. Although the YRBS is representative of US high school students, it may not be representative of US sexual minority high school students.

The results of our study suggest the existence of a crisis of violence against sexual minority adolescents. Researchers should work with policy makers and clinicians to design, implement, and assess interventions to reduce the risks and mitigate the harms of violence committed against sexual minority adolescents.

Read the full study via JAMA