Reasons Lesbian and Bisexual Adolescent Girls Have or Might Have Sex with Females or Males: Implications for Discordance between Sexual Identity and Behaviors and for Prevention of Pregnancy and STIs (original) (raw)
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Sexual Behaviors and Partner Characteristics by Sexual Identity Among Adolescent Girls
Journal of Adolescent Health, 2016
Purpose-Data suggest that lesbian and bisexual adolescents engage in risky sexual behaviors at higher rates than heterosexual girls. Whether these findings also apply to girls of other sexual identities is less well understood. Potential differences in risky sexual behaviors reported by lesbian versus bisexual adolescents are also underreported in the literature. Methods-Data were collected online in 2010-2011 among 2,823 girls, aged 13 to 18 years, in the U.S. Multinomial logistic regression was used to quantify comparisons of sexual behaviors between (1) lesbian, (2) bisexual, and (3) questioning, unsure, or other (QUO) identity and (0) heterosexual girls. Logistic regression compared lesbian and bisexual adolescents. Results-Lesbian and bisexual adolescents reported significantly more lifetime and past-year sexual partners than heterosexual girls. Bisexual girls were also more likely to report penile-anal and penile-vaginal sex, whereas lesbians were more likely to report earlier sexual debut for almost all types of sex, as compared to heterosexual girls. Lesbians also were more likely to report infrequent condom use and less likely to have conversations with partners about the use of barriers (e.g., dental dams) before first sex. Relative to lesbians, bisexual girls reported older age at first sex for almost all sexual behaviors and higher lifetime prevalence of recent male partners, penilevaginal, and penile-anal sex. Few differences were noted between QUO and heterosexual girls.
Sexual Identity, Partner Gender, and Sexual Health Among Adolescent Girls in the United States
Objectives. We examined associations between adolescent girls’ sexual identity and the gender of their sexual partners, on one hand, and their reports of sexual health behaviors and reproductive health outcomes, on the other. Methods. We analyzed weighted data from pooled Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (2005 and 2007) representative of 13 US jurisdictions, focusing on sexually experienced girls in 8th through 12th grade (weighted n = 6879.56). We used logistic regression with hierarchical linear modeling to examine the strength of associations between reports about sexual orientation and sexual and reproductive health. Results. Sexual minority girls consistently reported riskier behaviors than did other girls. Lesbian girls’ reports of risky sexual behaviors (e.g., sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol) and negative reproductive health outcomes (e.g., pregnancy) were similar to those of bisexual girls. Partner gender and sexual identity were similarly strong predictors of all of the sexual behaviors and reproductive health outcomes we examined. Conclusions. Many sexual minority girls, whether categorized according to sexual identity or partner gender, are vulnerable to sexual and reproductive health risks. Attention to these risks is needed to help sexual minority girls receive necessary services. (Am J Public Health. 2014;104:1957–1963. doi:10. 2105/AJPH.2014.302037)
2013
This study assessed Kinsey self-ratings and lifetime sexual experiences of 17-year-olds whose lesbian mothers enrolled before these offspring were born in the longest-running, prospective study of same-sex parented families, with a 93 % retention rate to date. Data for the current report were gathered through online questionnaires completed by 78 adolescent offspring (39 girls and 39 boys). The adolescents were askedif they had ever been abusedand,if so, tospecifybywhom and the type of abuse (verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual). They were also asked to specify their sexual identity on the Kinsey scale, between exclusively heterosexual and exclusively homosexual. Lifetime sexual behavior was assessed through questions about heterosexual and same-sex contact, age of first sexual experience, contraception use, and pregnancy. The results revealed that there were no reports of physical or sexual victimizationbyaparentorothercaregiver.Regardingsexualorientation,
Journal of Adolscent Health, 2013
Purpose: We studied sexual and reproductive health among self-identified bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual adolescent young women. Prior research has suggested that bisexual and lesbian young women may be at greater risk for many negative health outcomes, including risky sexual and reproductive health behavior. Methods: Using data from the U.S. nationally representative 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), we examined sexual and reproductive health among young women 15-20 years of age as a function of sexual orientation. We used logistic regression and ANCOVA to examine differences in sexual and reproductive health across groups while controlling for demographic group differences. Results: Bisexual and lesbian young women reported elevated sexual and reproductive health risks. Bisexual and lesbian participants reported being younger at heterosexual sexual debut, and having more male and female sexual partners, than did heterosexual participants. Further, they were more likely than heterosexual young women to report having been forced to have sex by a male partner. Bisexual young women reported the earliest sexual debut, highest numbers of male partners, greatest use of emergency contraception, and highest frequency of pregnancy termination. Conclusions: Overall, sexual minority young women especially those who identified as bisexual were at higher sexual and reproductive risk than their heterosexual peers.
Sexual Identity and Behavior Among U.S. High School Students, 2005–2015
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2019
Sexual orientation is a multidimensional construct which is increasingly recognized as an important demographic characteristic in population health research. For this study, weighted Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data were pooled across 47 jurisdictions biennially from 2005 to 2015, resulting in a national sample of 98 jurisdiction-years (344,815 students). Respondents were a median of 15.5 years, 49.9% male, and 48.8% White. Sexual identity and behavior trends from 2005 to 2015 were assessed with logistic regression analysis. Overall, 13.9% of females and 7.0% of males identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), or not sure, while 9.1% of females and 4.2% of males indicated both same-and-different-sex behavior or same-sex behavior. In total, 17.0% of female and 8.5% of male youth reported non-heterosexual (LGB or not sure) sexual identity, same-sex sexual behavior, or both. LGB youth were approximately twice as likely as other youth to report lifetime sexual behavior. White and Asian youth were less likely to report nonheterosexual identity and/or have engaged in same-sex sexual behaviors than youth of other races/ ethnicities. Prevalence of non-heterosexual identities increased over time for both sexes, but only female youth reported significantly more same-sex behavior over time. This is the first study to simultaneously assess adolescent sexual identity and behavior over time within a national dataset. These findings are critical for understanding the sexual health needs of adolescents, and for informing sexual health policy and practice.
Concordance and Discrepancy in Sexual Identity, Attraction, and Behavior Among Adolescents
Journal of Adolescent Health, 2009
Nonheterosexual youth are at greater risk for mental and physical health problems than heterosexual youth. Definitions of nonheterosexual youth, however, are not consistent between studies, variably including sexual identity, attraction, and/or behavior. This study's objective was to describe the concordance and discrepancy between sexual identification, attraction, and behavior in adolescents. Methods: A total of 1,951 students aged 14 and older from 14 high schools in Montreal, Quebec, were surveyed anonymously using the Quebec Youth Risk Behaviour Survey. The survey included three items assessing sexual orientation (sexual identity, sexual attraction, sexual behavior). Results: Twelve percent of adolescents (n ¼ 237) endorsed at least one measure of nonexclusive heterosexuality. A total of 3.4% reported gay/lesbian or bisexual (GLB) identity (another 3.4% were unsure), 9.0% reported same-gender attraction, and 4.0% same-gender behavior. There was no consistent pattern of overlap between the three measures, and no single dimension effectively captured this population. The question about attraction identified 71%; identity identified 52%; and behavior only 31%. In raw numbers, more heterosexually identified students reported same-gender attraction (n ¼ 95) or same-gender behavior (n ¼ 33) than GLB-identified students (n ¼ 44 and 29, respectively). Conclusions: ''Nonheterosexual'' youth are a heterogeneous group that cannot be identified accurately using a single question. In both research and clinical settings, the best way to assess sexual orientation, consistent with American Academy of Pediatrics, is to ask multiple questions that address the dimensions of identity, attraction, and behavior. All youth who endorse any combination of nonexclusively heterosexual identity, behavior, or attraction are potentially at risk for the ill effects of direct and indirect discrimination.
A longitudinal report of 156 gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths examined changes in sexual identity over time. Fifty-seven percent of the youths remained consistently self-identified as gay/lesbian, 18% transited from bisexual to gay/lesbian, and 15% consistently identified as bisexual over time. Although youths who consistently identified as gay/lesbian did not differ from other youths on time since experiencing sexual developmental milestones, they reported current sexual orientation and sexual behaviors that were more same-sex centered and they scored higher on aspects of the identity integration process (e.g., more certain, comfortable, and accepting of their same-sex sexuality, more involved in gay-related social activities, more possessing of positive attitudes toward homosexuality, and more comfortable with others knowing about their sexuality) than youths who transited to a gay/lesbian identity and youths who consistently identified as bisexual. Contrary to the hypothesis that females are more sexually fluid than males, female youths were less likely to change identities than male youths. The finding that youths who transited to a gay/ lesbian identity differed from consistently gay/lesbian youths suggests that identity integration continues after the adoption of a gay/lesbian sexual identity. The development of a gay, lesbian, or bisexual (GLB) sexual identity is a complex and often difficult process. Unlike members of other minority groups (e.g., ethnic and racial minorities), most GLB individuals are not raised in a community of similar others from whom they learn about their identity and who reinforce and support that identity. Rather, GLB individuals are often raised in communities that are either ignorant of or openly hostile toward homosexuality. Because sexual identity development is a process for which GLB