From Cara Murez
HealthDay reporter
TUESDAY, June 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) – More teens in the United States are reporting their sexual identities as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, according to national surveys.
According to nationwide surveys by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the proportion of 15 to 17-year-olds who identified themselves as “non-heterosexual” rose from 8.3% to 11.7% between 2015 and 2019.
“Although our analyzes have shown that the proportion of girls and boys who describe themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual has increased significantly, we cannot be sure whether this represents a real increase of this magnitude, or at least partly reflects more Teenagers’ comfort in acknowledging a non-heterosexual identity on an anonymous questionnaire, “said Dr Andrew Adesman, who led an analysis of the results.
Adesman is the director of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York City.
Since 2015, the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey has included questions about the sexual identity of the respondents and the gender of their intimate contacts. Prior to 2015, these questions were only included in some regional versions of the survey. The analysis of regional survey data between 2005 and 2015 had shown an increase in non-heterosexual sexual identity among both boys and girls.
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20,440 boys and 21,106 girls (average age 16 years) took part in the new, nationwide survey.
In addition to the overall increase, the proportion of boys who identified themselves as non-heterosexual rose from 4.5% to 5.7%. In girls, the increase was greater – from 12.2% to 17.8%, as the results showed.
Dr. Amy Green is the vice president of research for The Trevor Project, a statewide group that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to non-heterosexual youth.
Green found that young people today have better access to information and language that can help them understand their identity.
“Generation Z youth also have the most positive attitudes towards the LGBTQ community, which can reduce the stigma associated with that identification,” she said.
Green found that The Trevor Project’s own surveys consistently show that young people want to understand and express the nuances of their sexual orientation.
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“[This] That’s why we’re committed to collecting this information in both research and clinical settings to better educate policies, programs and practices that support the well-being of LGBTQ youth, “said Green.
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Joseph Kosciw is Director of Research for GLSEN in New York City, which has worked for 30 years helping schools become safer and more positive for LGBTQ students. He hopes this study reflects that work and that schools are more welcoming places for students to be themselves.
“I think the climate [in schools] is better and the youth are more comfortable, “he said.” And I also think that the youth of the current generation in general are more open to just being who they are.
When LGBTQ students are in a supportive school setting, the teenage years can be positive for them, he said. To others, school can feel unsafe and unconfirming, Kosciw said. Even in such circumstances, there can be rooms of hope and comfort, including the gender and sexual alliance clubs, he added.
Supportive school environments include those in which students are reflected in protective policies, with equal access to school and activities as everyone else. These include changing rooms and bathrooms that match their gender identity or are allowed to bring a same-sex date to prom, Kosciw said.
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“To the extent that students can be part of school life, they are better at school and they thrive, so I think it can be an exciting time for many LGBTQ students,” he said. “And it really is a school’s responsibility to make sure that their schools are safe and that spaces are made for them.”
The increase in adolescents who identified themselves as non-heterosexual was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in same-sex intimate contacts. Although the survey showed a modest increase, they weren’t big enough to be statistically significant.
Adesman said the likely explanation for the higher proportion of girls who identify as gay or bisexual, and the corresponding increase in same-sex activity, is that the stigma for boys is still far greater than for girls.
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“High school can be a very difficult time for teenagers in many ways, and it is especially difficult for teenagers who identify as gay or bisexual,” Adesman noted.
“Knowing that gay and bisexual adolescents are at greater risk of social isolation and victimization, as well as emotional problems, school and healthcare professionals must address these concerns in the face of what appears to be an increased proportion of high school students in the US,” he added.
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The results were published online in JAMA Pediatrics on June 14th.
More information
PFLAG is a resource for those who are LGBTQ, their families and friends.
SOURCES: Andrew Adesman, MD, Chief, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, New York City; Amy Green, PhD, Vice President, Research, The Trevor Project, West Hollywood, California; Joseph Kosciw, PhD, Director, GLSEN Research Institute, GLSEN, New York City; JAMA Pediatrics, June 14, 2021, online
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