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- Title
Are alcohol-related disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual youth decreasing?
- Authors
Fish, Jessica N.; Watson, Ryan J.; Porta, Carolyn M.; Russell, Stephen T.; Saewyc, Elizabeth M.
- Abstract
Background and Aims Although sexual orientation-related alcohol use disparities are well established, researchers have not identified whether disparities are diminishing as societal attitudes towards lesbian/gay and bisexual (LGB) people become more accepting. We examined changes in four alcohol-related disparities between heterosexual and LGB youth from 1998 to 2013 by (1) estimating the prevalence of these behaviors; (2) estimating disparities in alcohol-related outcomes between heterosexual and LGB youth within each wave year; and (3) testing whether the degree of difference in alcohol-related disparities between heterosexual and LGB youth has changed. Design Logistic regression models and year × sexual orientation interactions with repeated, cross-sectional, provincially representative data. Setting British Columbia, Canada. Participants Students (ages 12-19) from the 1998 ( n = 22 858), 2003 ( n = 29 323), 2008 ( n = 25 254) and 2013 ( n = 21 938) British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey (total n = 99 373, 48.7% male, mean age = 14.84). Measurements We modeled age-adjusted differences in life-time alcohol use, age of onset, past 30-day drinking and past 30-day heavy episodic drinking between heterosexual and three subgroups of sexual minority youth (i.e. mostly heterosexual, bisexual and lesbian/gay). Findings Generally, alcohol use declined for all youth, although less so among LGB youth [average adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.58 and aOR = 0.53 for heterosexual males and females and aOR = 0.71 and aOR = 0.57 for sexual minority males and females, respectively). Within-year comparisons demonstrated elevated rates of alcohol use among LGB compared with heterosexual youth for each of the four survey years, especially among females. Findings indicate few changes over time; however, results show an increase in risky alcohol use from 1998 to 2013 among mostly heterosexual (aOR = 1.58 for life-time alcohol use, aOR = 1.58 for 30-day alcohol use and aOR = 1.34 for 30-day heavy episodic drinking), and bisexual (aOR = 1.95 for life-time alcohol use) females. Conclusion Despite the general decline in the prevalence of alcohol use among young people in Canada since 1998, lesbian/gay and bisexual youth in Canada continue to show elevated rates of alcohol use compared with heterosexual youth.
- Subjects
CANADA; BRITISH Columbia; YOUTH &; alcohol; LGBTQ+ youth; HETEROSEXUALS; ATTITUDES toward homosexuality; SOCIAL attitudes; UNDERAGE drinking; SEXUAL minority youth; SOCIAL conditions of LGBTQ+ people; SUBSTANCE use of youth; SUBSTANCE abuse; PSYCHOLOGY of alcoholism; AGE distribution; ALCOHOLISM; CONFIDENCE intervals; PROBABILITY theory; SEX distribution; LOGISTIC regression analysis; CROSS-sectional method; PSYCHOLOGY of LGBTQ+ people; ODDS ratio; ADOLESCENCE; PSYCHOLOGY
- Publication
Addiction, 2017, Vol 112, Issue 11, p1931
- ISSN
0965-2140
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/add.13896