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Bullying increases risk for depression, PTSD in LGBT youth

LGBT youth who experienced steadily high or increasing levels of victimization from adolescence to early adulthood had increased risk for depression and PTSD.

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people experience greater mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, suicide attempts, and [PTSD], as well as physical health disparities (eg, cardiovascular disease), than do heterosexual and cisgender individuals,” Brian Mustanski, PhD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and colleagues wrote. “LGBT youths experience greater stressors from childhood into early adulthood, such as child abuse and unstable housing, that exacerbate mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, and they face a host of minority stressors specific to their sexual and gender minority identities.”

To assess the impact of cumulative victimization experienced by LGBT youth on mental health, researchers evaluated 248 individuals over 4 years. Study participants had a mean age of 18.7 years.

Overall, 65.4% of participants had low, decreasing victimization over time; 10.3% had moderate, increasing victimization; 5.1% had high, steady victimization; and 19.2% had high, decreasing victimization.

When controlling for baseline diagnoses and birth sex, LGBT youth who experienced moderate, increasing victimization (OR = 5.54; 95% CI, 1.94-15.82; P < .001) and high, steady victimization (OR = 4.23; 95% CI, 1.15-15.48; P < .05) had higher risk for depression than those who experienced low, decreasing victimization.

Youth who experienced moderate, increasing victimization) OR = 9.37; 95% CI, 2.76-31.88; P < .001); high, steady victimization (OR = 8.66; 95% CI, 1.93-39; P < .01); and high, decreasing victimization (OR = 4.19; 95% CI, 1.39-12.63; P < .01) had increased risk for PTSD, compared with those who experienced low, decreasing victimization.

“Overall, future research on trajectories of victimization may benefit from measuring how the accumulation of multiple forms of victimization and negative childhood events may influence mental health, as well as how LGBT youths may be resilient in the face of cumulative stressors,” the researchers wrote. “As our results show, those trajectories of victimization have significant implications for mental health. Through identifying these trajectories, as well as the determinants and outcomes of these lived experiences, researchers can identify key factors in the paths to positive development and ways to decrease the elevated mental health problems experienced by LGBT people.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: Please see the full study for a list of all authors’ relevant financial disclosures.