Teacher Support, Victimization, and Alcohol Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth: Considering Ethnoracial Identity

Sexual and gender identities and alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study examined differences in alcohol use by sexual and gender identities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and assessed whether variation between groups was explained by pandemic-related stressors and minority stress. Data from 2,429 partnered adults in the National Couples' Health and Time Use Study (n = 3,593) collected from September 2020 to April 2021 were used to model drinking patterns (frequency, amount, and drinking to cope) by sexual and gender identities, COVID-19 stress and disruption, microaggressions, and supportive climate. Regression models indicated differences in drinking by gender and sexual identities, even controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people had higher odds of drinking to cope with the pandemic than did heterosexual people, and cisgender men had higher odds than did cisgender women. Gay and lesbian people drank more regularly than did heterosexual people, as did cisgender men in relation to cisgender women. Exclusively bisexual people drank significantly more drinks than exclusively heterosexual people, and cisgender men drank significantly more drinks than did cisgender women and those who identified as trans/another gender identity. COVID-19 stress and minority stress were associated with greater alcohol consumption, but they did not account for these differentials. Moving forward, researchers will need to continuously assess these associations, as sources of discrimination and stress will persist beyond the pandemic. Although LGBTQ+ people have disproportionate sources of stress, they varied in how they used alcohol to cope. Potential sources of resilience among sexual and gender diverse individuals should be explored.

Sexual Minority Youth Reporting SOGIE-Based Harassment to Adults at School: The Roles of Experienced Harassment, Outness, Safety, and Adult Support at School

Despite a proliferation of bullying prevention programs in recent time, limited work has investigated support-seeking behaviors in response to elevated bullying levels among sexual minority youth (SMY). To address this gap, the current study examined how harassment targeting SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), sexual identity outness, school safety, and perceptions of teacher/staff support were associated with SMY talking to an adult at school about harassment. A large contemporary national sample of SMY (N = 5538) between the ages 13-18 (Mage = 15.53, SD = 1.33) who experienced at least one form of SOGIE-based harassment in the past year was leveraged for analyses. Hierarchical multivariable logistic regressions revealed more frequent SOGIE-based harassment was associated with greater odds of reporting harassment to school personnel, particularly among SMY who felt safe at school. Findings highlight the need for school-based interventions to foster school safety among SMY who experience peer harassment to promote their reporting of this behavior.

Poor school performance and gambling among adolescents: Can the association be moderated by conditions in school?

Introduction

Protective factors of adolescent gambling at the school level and their buffering potential are scarcely explored in prior research. This study aims to examine the protective possibility of low student-teacher ratio on youth gambling, both directly and by moderating the effect of low school performance.

Methods

Data were derived from the 2016 Stockholm school survey, collected among 5,221 grade 11 students (∼17-18 years) in 46 schools, with information on schools' composition and student-teacher ratio obtained through registers. Gambling and risk gambling were coded as binary variables. School performance was captured by self-reported marks in three core subjects, dichotomised into average/above average and below average, respectively. Student-teacher ratio was used both as a continuous and trichotomised variable. Two-level binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results

A below average school performance was associated with gambling and risk gambling but the association with gambling was only statistically significant at the 10%-level in the fully adjusted model. Student-teacher ratio was not directly associated with gambling and risk gambling but moderated the associations between school performance and both gambling and risk gambling, as these relationships were less pronounced in schools with a low student-teacher ratio.

Conclusions

In sum, a low student-teacher ratio may protect students from gambling and risk gambling by buffering against the adverse effects of other risk factors, such as poor school performance. These findings suggest that a higher teacher density in upper secondary schools can be beneficial beyond school matters by positively influencing student behaviour outside of school.

Latinx Sexual Minority Adolescent Substance Use: State of the Science and Call for Intersectional Minority Stressors and Protective Factors

Purpose of review

Latinx sexual minority adolescents (LSMA) are at an intersection of ethnic and sexual minority (SM) status and may experience heighten risk of substance use and related problems. These youth may also hold unique protective factors that help mitigate the effects of minority stress and curb substance use. Little is known, however, about the intersectional minority stressors (i.e., due to ethnicity and SM status) and protective factors related to substance use among this population.

Recent Findings

According to the minority stress model, there are unique minority stressors and resiliency factors that can help explain differences in behavioral health rates between white SM and SM of color. Research supports the notion that minority stressors (e.g., stigma/risk, homophobic bullying, and family rejection of SM status) confer risk for substance use among LSMA. In terms of resilience, less is known, but there may be some protective factors that have not been measured that could explain lower rates in some substances (i.e., club drugs and methamphetamine).

Summary

Little is known about how the intersections of ethnicity and SM status are associated with substance use in adolescence. Future research should assess the temporal relationship of multilevel (i.e., intrapersonal, relational, and system), intersectional (i.e., ethnicity and SM status) minority stressors and protective factors unique to LSMA on substance use. We propose that the findings from these future studies will help to create socioculturally appropriate behavioral health treatments that consider the intersectional risks and strengths within the LSMA population.

Community Connectedness as a Moderator of the Association between Intersectional Microaggressions and Alcohol Use among Sexual and Gender Minoritized People of Color

Background: Researchers have documented associations between discrete conceptualizations of microaggressions (e.g., sexual identity, gender identity, and racial identity microaggressions) and alcohol use among sexual and gender minoritized people of color (SGM-POC). However, little is known about the association between intersectional microaggressions and alcohol use among SGM-POC. Moreover, protective factors such as community connectedness have been examined via similar discrete conceptualizations instead of examining SGM-POC community connectedness with other SGM-POC individuals. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the association between intersectional microaggressions and alcohol use among SGM-POC and test whether different types of community connectedness moderated this association. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 267 SGM-POC individuals. Four moderation analyses were done to analyze whether different types of community connectedness (sexual identity, racial identity, gender identity, and SGM-POC identity community connectedness) were moderators of the association of intersectional microaggressions and alcohol use. Results: Intersectional microaggressions were significantly positively correlated with alcohol use. Furthermore, SGM-POC community connectedness moderated this association such that the association was stronger for individuals with higher levels of SGM-POC community connectedness, but not lower levels of SGM-POC community connectedness. Conclusions: These findings showcase the importance of assessing for intersectional microaggressions as a risk factor for alcohol use. Similarly, the findings suggest that SGM-POC community connectedness may be a protective factor against alcohol use for SGM-POC.

Parental Support, Depressive Symptoms, and LGBTQ Adolescents: Main and Moderation Effects in a Diverse Sample

OBJECTIVE

Research has documented the importance of parental support as a protective factor against depressive symptoms among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. In this study, we assessed the relations between LGBTQ-specific parental support and depressive symptoms.

METHOD

Participants were 6,837 LGBTQ youth (ages 13-17) with diverse racial and ethnic, gender, and sexual identities. Main effect and moderation analyses examined interactions between LGBTQ-specific parental support with demographic variables on depressive symptoms, considering demographics as moderators.

RESULTS

We found that participants of color reported less LGBTQ-specific parental support than their White counterparts, that transgender and genderqueer participants reported less LGBTQ-specific parental support than their cisgender counterparts, and that non-monosexual participants reported less LGBTQ-specific parental support than their monosexual counterparts. Disparities in depressive symptoms were found for individuals who identified as Native American and Latinx, non-monosexual, and transgender and genderqueer, such that these groups reported higher levels of depressive symptoms. Further, we found a significant interaction between LGBTQ-specific parental support and ethnicity, with LGBTQ-specific parental support being less strongly associated with participants who identified as Latinx compared to those who did not identify as Latinx. We also found a significant interaction between LGBTQ-specific parental support and gender identity, with LGBTQ-specific parental support being more strongly related to depressive symptoms among participants who did not identify as boys compared to cisgender boys .

DISCUSSION

We discuss how to assess the impact of interlocking systems of oppression when working with LGBTQ youth and their parental figures.

Disparities in Perpetrators, Locations, and Reports of Victimization for Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents

PURPOSE

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents are more likely to become victims of bullying and harassment than heterosexual, cisgender adolescents, but little is known about the contextual details of these victimization experiences. This study aims to examine by whom and where adolescents are bullied or harassed, to whom adolescents report such victimization, and whether these experiences differ between SGM and heterosexual, cisgender adolescents.

METHODS

Participants in this nationally representative study were 29,879 students (mean age = 14.1) from 136 Dutch middle/high schools across grades 7-12 (14.5% sexual minority, 2.7% gender minority) who completed a survey about their school-based experiences.

RESULTS

Perpetrators of victimization of SGM students were more often teachers and school staff compared with heterosexual, cisgender adolescents. Furthermore, SGM students experienced victimization in private locations (in the rest- or changing rooms/parking lots, at home), more often than heterosexual, cisgender students. Finally, SGM students felt less safe than their heterosexual, cisgender peers to report these experiences to teachers or parents, and were more likely to report their experiences to the police or the school janitor. SGM students who reported victimization experiences were less likely to receive support: the problems were less often acted on and persisted more often than those of heterosexual, cisgender students.

CONCLUSIONS

SGM adolescents are not only victimized more often, but also by different perpetrators (teachers, other school staff) and in more private places. Their victimization is also less likely to be recognized or acted on by those responsible for adolescent's safety: teachers or parents.

Victimization Typologies Among a Large National Sample of Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents

Purpose: The overall objective of this study was to examine the hypothesis that victimization exposure among sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth would result in different latent classes and that victimization exposure class membership would relate to demographic, SGM-specific risk and protective factors, and health variables. Methods: Between April 2017 and December 2017, SGM youth (N = 17,112) aged 13-17 years completed self-report online surveys as part of the LGBTQ National Teen Survey. Data were analyzed between August 2020 and November 2020. Results: Three classes emerged: (1) no victimization exposure, (2) sexual harassment and bullying, and (3) poly-victimization (sexual victimization, sexual harassment, SGM-based bullying, and non-SGM bullying). The results demonstrated that victimization experiences co-occur disproportionately in vulnerable subpopulations of SGM youth, including those who identify as transgender or other gender minority, who are experiencing stigma-related stress and family rejection, and who had disclosed their sexual orientation to family members/parents. SGM youth who reported a diversity of strengths seemed to be protected against victimization. Finally, SGM youth in the sexual harassment and bullying class and the poly-victimization class were more likely to report depressive symptoms, self-perceived stress, and substance use than were SGM youth in the no victimization class, regardless of sex assigned at birth. Conclusion: These findings underscore the urgency with which affirmative prevention and intervention initiatives are needed for SGM youth to reduce risk factors for and correlates of victimization experiences. The data also underscore the importance of addressing SGM-specific risk and protective factors as part of comprehensive violence-related initiatives.