Developmental Trends in Peer Victimization and Emotional Distress in LGB and Heterosexual Youth

Joseph Paul Robinson · Dorothy L. Espelage · Ian Rivers

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LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression Child Abuse and Trauma

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study had 2 objectives: Our first objective was to provide the first evidence of developmental trends in victimization rates for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB)- and heterosexual-identified youth, both in absolute and relative terms, and to examine differences by gender. Our second objective was to examine links between victimization, sexual identity, and later emotional distress. METHODS: Data are from a nationally representative prospective cohort study of youth in England were collected annually between 2004 and 2010. Our final analytic dataset includes 4135 participants with data at all 7 waves; 4.5% (n = 187) identified as LGB. Analyses included hierarchical linear modeling, propensity score matching, and structural equation modeling. RESULTS: LGB victimization rates decreased in absolute terms. However, trends in relative rates were more nuanced: Gay/bisexual-identified boys became more likely to be victimized compared with heterosexual-identified boys (wave 1: odds ratio [OR] = 1.78, P = .011; wave 7: OR = 3.95, P = .001), whereas relative rates among girls approached parity (wave 1: OR = 1.95, P = .001; wave 7: OR = 1.18, P = .689), suggesting different LGB-heterosexual relative victimization rate trends for boys and girls. Early victimization and emotional distress explained about 50% of later LGB-heterosexual emotional distress disparities for both boys and girls (each P < .015). CONCLUSIONS: Victimization of LGB youth decreases in absolute, but not necessarily relative, terms. The findings suggest that addressing LGB victimization during adolescence is critical to reducing LGB-heterosexual emotional distress disparities but additional support may be necessary to fully eliminate these disparities.

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References

1989Structural Equations with Latent Variables 1991Structural Equations with Latent Variables.2003Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence.2001Conceptualizing Stigma 2001Bullying Behaviors Among US Youth 2009How does sexual minority stigma “get under the skin”? A psychological mediation framework.1988Heterosexuals' attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: Correlates and gender differences 2002A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school

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2015School-Based Protective Factors Related to Suicide for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents 2021Mediators of the Disparities in Depression Between Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Individuals: A Systematic Review 2018Bullying Victimization Among LGBTQ Youth: Critical Issues and Future Directions 2023The temporal intersectional minority stress model: Reimagining minority stress theory 2013Peer Victimization and Sexual Risk Differences Between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Questioning and Nontransgender Heterosexual Youths in Grades 7–12

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