Sex and orientation identity matter in the substance use behaviors of sexual minority adolescents in the United States

dc.check.date2019-03-07
dc.check.infoAccess to this article is restricted until 12 months after publication by request of the publisher.en
dc.contributor.authorCaputi, Theodore L.
dc.contributor.funderUS-Ireland Allianceen
dc.date.accessioned2018-03-22T10:07:32Z
dc.date.available2018-03-22T10:07:32Z
dc.date.issued2018-03-08
dc.description.abstractBackground: Health sciences researchers are beginning to understand the differing experiences and health risks among sexual minority subgroups (i.e., those who describe themselves as homosexual/gay/lesbian, bisexual, or unsure/questioning). Such research can promote the allocation of resources to high-risk groups and the development of interventions tailored to their needs. The present study extends this line of research to substance use among adolescents. Methods: The lifetime and/or past 30-day alcohol, tobacco, cigarette, e-cigarette, marijuana, prescription drug, and illicit drug use of sexual minority and heterosexual adolescents was analyzed using data from the 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Controlling for confounders, separate logistic regression models were fit for each substance use outcome. A simulation-based strategy was employed to report adjusted risk ratios for each substance use outcome for each sexual minority subgroup. Results: Sexual minority females, particularly bisexual females, were at an elevated risk for substance use. For example, compared to heterosexual females, sexual minority females were 1.35 (95%CI 1.16–1.56) times more likely to have used a substance in the past 30 days, and bisexual females had an even further elevated risk ratio (RR: 1.48, 95%CI 1.28–1.69). Conclusions: Studying the variance among sexual minority subgroups will help practitioners, advocates, and policymakers identify high risk subgroups. In the case of substance use, this study suggests sexual minority females, particularly bisexual females, should become a target population for prevention and other interventions. The study conducts post-hoc analyses on secondary data, and so these results should be verified in more targeted studies.en
dc.description.sponsorshipUS-Ireland Alliance (George J. Mitchell Scholarship)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationCaputi, T. L. (2018) 'Sex and orientation identity matter in the substance use behaviors of sexual minority adolescents in the United States', Drug and Alcohol Dependence, In Press, doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.01.012en
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.01.012
dc.identifier.endpage29en
dc.identifier.issn0376-8716
dc.identifier.journaltitleDrug and Alcohol Dependenceen
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/5675
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherElsevieren
dc.rights© 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.subjectSexual minorityen
dc.subjectSubstance useen
dc.subjectLesbianen
dc.subjectGayen
dc.subjectBisexualen
dc.subjectQuestioningen
dc.subjectAlcoholen
dc.subjectMarijuanaen
dc.subjectPrescription drugsen
dc.titleSex and orientation identity matter in the substance use behaviors of sexual minority adolescents in the United Statesen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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