Association between sexual behaviors, bullying victimization and suicidal ideation in a national sample of high school students: implications of a sexual double standard.
The sexual double standard is the notion that women are more harshly judged for their sexual behaviors than men. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the sexual double standard could explain gender differences in bullying victimization among adolescents and the extent to which that relationship correlated with depression and suicidal ideation.
Analyses were conducted using a sample of high school students (n = 13,065) from the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a cross-sectional and national school-based survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data were assessed using multiple logistic regression, gender-stratified analyses, and interaction terms.
Students who engaged in sexual intercourse (sexually active) had higher odds of being bullied. When this association was stratified by gender, odds of being bullying increased for girls (odds ratio [OR], 1.83; 95% CI, 1.58-2.13) and decreased for boys (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.77-1.16). Sexually active students who were bullied also displayed more than five times (OR, 5.65; 95% CI, 4.71-6.78) the adjusted odds of depression and three times (adjusted OR, 3.38; 95% CI, 2.65-4.32) the adjusted odds of suicidal ideation compared with students who reported neither of those behavioral characteristics. When stratified by gender, girls had slightly higher odds of depression and suicidal ideation but overall, the odds remained strong for both genders.
Results provide some evidence that a sexual double standard exists and may play a prominent role in bullying victimization among girls. Therefore, addressing the sexual double may be important to consider when tailoring school bullying intervention programs.
Dunn HK
,Gjelsvik A
,Pearlman DN
,Clark MA
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Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Mental Health, and Bullying as Predictors of Partner Violence in a Representative Sample of Youth.
Partner violence (PV) is prevalent among US adolescents, though little is known about its prevalence and correlates across gender identities and sexual orientations. Existing research has frequently placed lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), questioning, and transgender adolescents in the same category, obscuring potential differences in risk of PV.
This study (N = 9,352) uses the 2015 Healthy Kids Colorado Study, a statewide representative survey, to explore how sexual orientation and gender identity are associated with PV victimization among high-school youth, and whether there is a relationship between mental health and bullying victimization and PV.
Out of all youth who dated in the past year, 9.4% reported experiencing past-year PV. Compared to their cisgender heterosexual peers, cisgender LGB youth (AOR = 1.48 [1.17, 1.86]) and cisgender questioning youth (AOR = 1.68 [1.13, 2.48]) had elevated risk of experiencing PV. Transgender youth, particularly those who are both transgender and LGB (AOR = 3.25 [2.02, 5.22]) or transgender and questioning their sexual orientation (AOR = 8.57 [4.28, 17.16]), had the highest risk of PV. Depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.99 [1.67, 2.37]), suicidality (AOR = 1.83 [1.62, 2.06]), bullying victimization (AOR = 1.58 [1.31, 1.91]), and online bullying victimization (AOR = 1.98 [1.62, 2.06]) were associated with PV.
LGB, questioning and transgender high school students are at elevated risk of PV, with the highest risk among those who are both LGB and transgender. Adolescents who report PV are also more likely to be struggling with bullying, depression, and suicidality. PV prevention and response interventions should use intersectional approaches responsive to the unique needs of LGBT youth.
Walls NE
,Atteberry-Ash B
,Kattari SK
,Peitzmeier S
,Kattari L
,Langenderfer-Magruder L
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