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The following is a summary of “Associations Between Verbal and Physical Abuse in the Home and Mental Health Indicators Among Heterosexual and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning High School Students in the US—Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, 2021,” published in the January 2024 issue of Pediatrics by Ethier, et al.
It is possible that a variety of variables, including parental maltreatment, contribute to the inequalities in mental health and suicidality that are seen among adolescents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ). Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) included a sample of high school students from the United States representative of the whole country. Compared to heterosexual students, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students were shown to have a higher incidence of experiencing verbal and physical abuse in the family, as well as mental health and suicidal thoughts.
All students had a strong association between abuse and mental health and suicidality; however, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students experienced a considerably higher incidence of abuse, had much worse mental health, and had a significantly higher suicidal tendency than homosexual students.
However, among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students who had suffered abuse, the frequency of poor mental health and suicidality reached crisis levels. While experiencing verbal or physical abuse in the family is highly connected with poor mental health and suicidality among kids, regardless of sexual identity, this association is not as strong.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X23003944