Substance Use among Sexual Minorities: Has it Actually Gotten Better?
| Autor: | Ryan J. Watson, Carol Goodenow, Elizabeth M. Saewyc, Carolyn M. Porta, Jones Adjei |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Health (social science) Adolescent Alcohol Drinking education Medicine (miscellaneous) Logistic regression 03 medical and health sciences Sexual and Gender Minorities 0302 clinical medicine Marijuana use Sex Factors mental disorders Prevalence Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Child 030505 public health Emotional health fungi Smoking Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Cannabis use Large sample Sexual minority Psychiatry and Mental health Female Marijuana Use Substance use 0305 other medical science Psychology Demography |
| Zdroj: | Substance usemisuse. 53(7) |
| ISSN: | 1532-2491 |
| Popis: | Despite efforts to decrease substance use, rates among sexual minority youth (SMY) remain higher than among heterosexuals. Substance use is a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality in adulthood, and SMY's use of substances is related to poorer mental and emotional health.We sought to document the trends in substance use for a large sample of youth over 14 years with special attention to SMY. In addition, we tested whether there were disparities in substance use behaviors between SMY and heterosexual youth. Last, we examined changes in disparities over time in substance use among SMY.We analyzed data from 8 waves of the Massachusetts YRBS (N = 26,002, MIn absolute terms, substance use rates decreased for nearly all youth between 1999 and 2013. There were striking disparities in substance use between heterosexual youth and all sexual minority subgroups. These disparities in substance use narrowed among males but remained unchanged or worsened among females. Conclusions/Importance: Trends in substance use are changing over time, but not in the same ways for all sexual minority subgroups. Patterns are worsening for females. These findings suggest that we need to address the needs of LGB populations in novel ways. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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