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- Title
Emotional Distress Among LGBT Youth: The Influence of Perceived Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation.
- Authors
Almeida, Joanna; Johnson, Renee M.; Corliss, Heather L.; Molnar, Beth E.; Azrael, Deborah
- Abstract
The authors evaluated emotional distress among 9th–12th grade students, and examined whether the association between being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgendered (i.e., “LGBT”) and emotional distress was mediated by perceptions of having been treated badly or discriminated against because others thought they were gay or lesbian. Data come from a school-based survey in Boston, Massachusetts ( n = 1,032); 10% were LGBT, 58% were female, and ages ranged from 13 to 19 years. About 45% were Black, 31% were Hispanic, and 14% were White. LGBT youth scored significantly higher on the scale of depressive symptomatology. They were also more likely than heterosexual, non-transgendered youth to report suicidal ideation (30% vs. 6%, p < 0.0001) and self-harm (21% vs. 6%, p < 0.0001). Mediation analyses showed that perceived discrimination accounted for increased depressive symptomatology among LGBT males and females, and accounted for an elevated risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation among LGBT males. Perceived discrimination is a likely contributor to emotional distress among LGBT youth.
- Subjects
BOSTON (Mass.); MASSACHUSETTS; HOMOPHOBIA; LGBTQ+ youth; SEXUAL orientation; STUDENT surveys; SUICIDAL ideation; SELF-destructive behavior in adolescence; ADOLESCENT psychopathology; PSYCHOLOGY
- Publication
Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 2009, Vol 38, Issue 7, p1001
- ISSN
0047-2891
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10964-009-9397-9