Emotional Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Questioning Bullies: Does It Differ from Straight Bullies?

Marla E. Eisenberg; Amy L. Gower; Barbara J. McMorris

doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0316-y

Emotional Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Questioning Bullies: Does It Differ from Straight Bullies?

Marla E. Eisenberg, Amy L. Gower, Barbara J. McMorris

Academics (Nursing)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Research demonstrates that young people involved in bullying are at greater risk for poor emotional health outcomes, but this association may not be consistent for youth of different sexual orientations. Understanding the unique needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning (LGBQ) youth may suggest important opportunities for intervention and prevention. This study, therefore, examines whether involvement with bullying is differentially associated with emotional well-being across sexual orientation. Survey data were collected from a large statewide sample of 9th and 11th grade students in 2013 (N = 79,039, 49.8 % female, 74.6 % white). Logistic regression tested associations between sexual orientation, physical or relational bullying perpetration and five measures of emotional health. In the full sample, those reporting bullying perpetration had significantly elevated odds of emotional health problems. However, interaction terms and stratified models indicated that in nine out of ten physical bullying models and two out of ten relational bullying models, perpetration was not as strongly associated with poor emotional health among LGBQ adolescents as it was among heterosexual youth. Possible explanations for this finding include unhealthy coping strategies or masking one’s own vulnerable status as LGBQ. Continued efforts to prevent bullying are needed for all youth.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	105-116
Number of pages	12
Journal	Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Volume	45
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0316-y
State	Published - Jan 1 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study is funded by Grant R40 MC 26815 (Marla Eisenberg, Principal Investigator) through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Research Program. Dr. Gower’s time was supported by Grant #T32HP22239 (Iris Borowsky, Principal Investigator) from a National Research Service Award (NRSA) in Primary Medical Care. Minnesota Student Survey data were provided by public school students in Minnesota via local public school districts and managed by the 2013 Minnesota Student Survey Interagency Team.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Keywords

Bullying
Emotional health
Sexual orientation
Suicide

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/s10964-015-0316-y

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title = "Emotional Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Questioning Bullies: Does It Differ from Straight Bullies?",

abstract = "Research demonstrates that young people involved in bullying are at greater risk for poor emotional health outcomes, but this association may not be consistent for youth of different sexual orientations. Understanding the unique needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning (LGBQ) youth may suggest important opportunities for intervention and prevention. This study, therefore, examines whether involvement with bullying is differentially associated with emotional well-being across sexual orientation. Survey data were collected from a large statewide sample of 9th and 11th grade students in 2013 (N = 79,039, 49.8 % female, 74.6 % white). Logistic regression tested associations between sexual orientation, physical or relational bullying perpetration and five measures of emotional health. In the full sample, those reporting bullying perpetration had significantly elevated odds of emotional health problems. However, interaction terms and stratified models indicated that in nine out of ten physical bullying models and two out of ten relational bullying models, perpetration was not as strongly associated with poor emotional health among LGBQ adolescents as it was among heterosexual youth. Possible explanations for this finding include unhealthy coping strategies or masking one{\textquoteright}s own vulnerable status as LGBQ. Continued efforts to prevent bullying are needed for all youth.",

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Emotional Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Questioning Bullies: Does It Differ from Straight Bullies?

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Publisher link

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