Abstract
Purpose: We tested three competing models about whether gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school have nonindependent, additive, or interactive effects on adolescents' electronic cigarette use (i.e., vaping), cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and heavy episodic drinking (HED). We also tested whether harassment mediated substance use disparities between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) adolescents and their cisgender heterosexual peers. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2013-2014 California Healthy Kids Survey, including 316,766 students in grades 7, 9, and 11 from more than 1,500 middle and high schools. We used logistic regression models and interaction terms to estimate associations of past-year gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school on past-month substance use, and the Karlson-Holm-Breen method to test whether harassment mediated LGBT disparities in substance use. Results: Vaping, smoking, drinking, HED, and gender- and sexuality-based harassment were higher for transgender adolescents than for cisgender males and females, and for adolescents who were lesbian, gay, or bisexual only versus heterosexual only. Gender- and sexuality-based harassments were independently associated with greater odds of using each substance in every grade. These two types of harassment had positive interactions with each other for vaping in grade 11, smoking in grade 11, and HED in grades 9 and 11. Gender- and sexuality-based harassment significantly mediated many of the LGBT disparities in substance use. Conclusions: Gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school independently or interactively produced LGBT disparities in substance use. Reducing these types of discrimination in schools will likely mitigate these disparities.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Adolescent Health |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - Jan 1 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Alcohol use
- Cigarette use
- Electronic cigarette use
- Harassment
- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Psychiatry and Mental health
Cite this
The Effects of Gender- and Sexuality-Based Harassment on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Substance Use Disparities. / Coulter, Robert W.S.; Bersamin, Melina; Russell, Stephen T; Mair, Christina.
In: Journal of Adolescent Health, 01.01.2017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of Gender- and Sexuality-Based Harassment on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Substance Use Disparities
AU - Coulter, Robert W.S.
AU - Bersamin, Melina
AU - Russell, Stephen T
AU - Mair, Christina
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Purpose: We tested three competing models about whether gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school have nonindependent, additive, or interactive effects on adolescents' electronic cigarette use (i.e., vaping), cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and heavy episodic drinking (HED). We also tested whether harassment mediated substance use disparities between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) adolescents and their cisgender heterosexual peers. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2013-2014 California Healthy Kids Survey, including 316,766 students in grades 7, 9, and 11 from more than 1,500 middle and high schools. We used logistic regression models and interaction terms to estimate associations of past-year gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school on past-month substance use, and the Karlson-Holm-Breen method to test whether harassment mediated LGBT disparities in substance use. Results: Vaping, smoking, drinking, HED, and gender- and sexuality-based harassment were higher for transgender adolescents than for cisgender males and females, and for adolescents who were lesbian, gay, or bisexual only versus heterosexual only. Gender- and sexuality-based harassments were independently associated with greater odds of using each substance in every grade. These two types of harassment had positive interactions with each other for vaping in grade 11, smoking in grade 11, and HED in grades 9 and 11. Gender- and sexuality-based harassment significantly mediated many of the LGBT disparities in substance use. Conclusions: Gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school independently or interactively produced LGBT disparities in substance use. Reducing these types of discrimination in schools will likely mitigate these disparities.
AB - Purpose: We tested three competing models about whether gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school have nonindependent, additive, or interactive effects on adolescents' electronic cigarette use (i.e., vaping), cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and heavy episodic drinking (HED). We also tested whether harassment mediated substance use disparities between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) adolescents and their cisgender heterosexual peers. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2013-2014 California Healthy Kids Survey, including 316,766 students in grades 7, 9, and 11 from more than 1,500 middle and high schools. We used logistic regression models and interaction terms to estimate associations of past-year gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school on past-month substance use, and the Karlson-Holm-Breen method to test whether harassment mediated LGBT disparities in substance use. Results: Vaping, smoking, drinking, HED, and gender- and sexuality-based harassment were higher for transgender adolescents than for cisgender males and females, and for adolescents who were lesbian, gay, or bisexual only versus heterosexual only. Gender- and sexuality-based harassments were independently associated with greater odds of using each substance in every grade. These two types of harassment had positive interactions with each other for vaping in grade 11, smoking in grade 11, and HED in grades 9 and 11. Gender- and sexuality-based harassment significantly mediated many of the LGBT disparities in substance use. Conclusions: Gender- and sexuality-based harassment at school independently or interactively produced LGBT disparities in substance use. Reducing these types of discrimination in schools will likely mitigate these disparities.
KW - Alcohol use
KW - Cigarette use
KW - Electronic cigarette use
KW - Harassment
KW - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85037574030&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85037574030&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.10.004
DO - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.10.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 29241986
AN - SCOPUS:85037574030
JO - Journal of Adolescent Health
JF - Journal of Adolescent Health
SN - 1054-139X
ER -