Substance Use Among Sexual Minorities: Has It Actually Gotten Better?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Adjei J ; Goodenow C ; Porta C ; Saewyc E ; Watson RJ
• Description:
  Introduction and Aims: Sexual identity disparities in smoking behaviours are well established; however, there is limited research on whether these disparities have diminished as the social and political landscape has changed for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Thus, we examined changes in prevalence and sexual identity disparities in three smoking behaviours among Canadian adolescents from 1998 to 2013. Design and Methods: Data are from the provincially representative British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey (N = 99 373). Using sex-stratified, age-adjusted logistic regression models, we estimated: (i) trends in lifetime cigarette use, early onset, and past 30-day use for heterosexual and three subgroups of sexual minority (i.e. mostly heterosexual, bisexual and gay/lesbian) youth; (ii) sexual identity disparities in these cigarette-related behaviours within each survey year (1998, 2003, 2008, 2013); and (iii) whether the size of the disparity has changed from 1998 to 2013. Results: Smoking has declined for all youth from 1998 to 2013, although less consistently for sexual minority youth. Within-year disparity estimates indicated elevated prevalence of cigarette use for sexual minority compared to heterosexual youth, particularly among females. Trends in sexual identity and smoking behaviours indicated that the degree of differences between heterosexual and sexual minority youth have remained stable or, in some cases, widened. Heterosexual and sexual minority youth differences widened for early onset among sexual minority boys and lifetime and past 30-day use for sexual minority girls. Discussion and Conclusions: Efforts to prevent smoking behaviours among youth should continue. Tailored preventive strategies for sexual minority youth might help address existing disparities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Behavior Healthcare Disparities Mental Health Minority Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Sex Characteristics Substance-Related Disorders Tobacco Products

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• Keywords:
  Adolescents Author Keywords: Alcohol Use Drugs Gender Factors Health Disparities LGB Marijuana Use Mental Health Minority Health Sex Factors Substance Abuse Teenagers Tobacco Trends

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• ISSN:
  1082-6084
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; Massachusetts ; Minnesota ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  53
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064172
• Citation:
  Subst Use Misuse 2018 Jun; 53(7):1221-1228
• Contact Point Address:
  Ryan J. Watson, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut, 348 Mansfield Road, U-1058, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
• Email:
  ryanwatson@uconn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Substance Use and Misuse
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7e04b360b92572bf8b318b213906b4a6e9bb605db0265dba650e29f8bfd45fefc8f4b621a49abba1b39bc761c476e2233066e75a3f698ad77f0a18e0c6fd2d16
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222678/cdc_222678_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 710.97 KB ]