Substance use in sexual minority youth: prevalence in an urban cohort.
Florian Vock, Lydia Johnson-Ferguson, Laura Bechtiger, Niklaus Stulz, Joh Von Felten, Manuel Eisner, Urs Hepp, Denis Ribeaud, Lilly Shanahan, Boris B. Quednow
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health September 16, 2023 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-023-00657-0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective-longitudinal cohort study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,297 |
| Population | Urban adolescents and young adults aged 17 and 20 |
| Duration | Assessments at age 17 and age 20 |
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Adolescents Drug use Lgbtq Sexual minority youth |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key findings | Sexual minority females had significantly higher odds of substance use for multiple substances at both ages compared to heterosexual females, while sexual minority males showed lower use for some substances at age 17 but higher use for ecstasy/MDMA and hallucinogens at age 20. |
Abstract
Little comparative data on substance use (SU) between sexual minority youth (SMY) and heterosexual youth (HET) is available. This study compares the prevalence of SU in an urban cohort between SMY and HET and evaluates demographic and psychosocial predictors of SU. Data came from a prospective-longitudinal cohort study in an urban setting (N = 1297). SU and psychosocial variables such as internalizing symptoms, self-control, sensation-seeking, bullying-victimization, subjective stress, leisure activities, and peer influences were assessed with self-reports at age 17 and 20. SU was stratified by sex and sexual attraction, and the groups were compared using regression models, with demographic and psychosocial variables included as covariates. SMY- and HET-youth displayed differences in a number of psychosocial variables. Overall, SMY- and HET-youth differed in their 12-months prevalence of SU: At age 17, SMY-females had significantly higher rates of SU than HET-females for cannabis (aOR = 2.14, p = 0.04), ecstasy/MDMA (aOR = 4.29, p = 0.01), and hallucinogens (aOR = 5.59, p = 0.02). At age 20, SMY-females had significantly higher rates of SU than HET-females for tobacco (aOR = 2.06, p = 0.03), cannabis (aOR = 2.24, p = 0.004), ecstasy/MDMA (aOR = 3.93, p < 0.001), stimulants (aOR = 3.45, p = 0.002), and hallucinogens (aOR = 6.65, p < 0.001). SMY-males reported significantly lower rates for tobacco and cannabis than HET-males at age 17. At age 20, they reported significantly higher rates for the use of ecstasy/MDMA (aOR = 2.30, p = 0.04) and hallucinogens (aOR = 2.43, p = 0.03). Given that psychosocial variables were significant covariates of SMY-status and SU, our results underline the importance of accounting for these when explaining differences in SU between adolescents. While differentiation by sex is established in most studies, such standardized comparisons are lacking with regards to sexual identities. But knowledge about SU of SMY is critical for designing effective interventions. This is especially true for SMY-females: Thus, SU in SMY-females early in life needs to be explored more thoroughly and addressed with adequate prevention measures.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada Rural aboriginal population | 2013 | Observational study | |
| Dynamic coupling of whole-brain neuronal and neurotransmitter systems Healthy humans | 2020 | Observational study | |
| Psychedelics not linked to mental health problems or suicidal behavior: A population study Randomly selected United States adults | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 135,095 |
| Breakdown of long-range temporal dependence in default mode and attention networks during deep sleep Human participants across the nonrapid eye movement sleep cycle | 2013 | Observational cohort | |
| Assessment of addiction severity among ritual users of ayahuasca Regular ayahuasca users (jungle-based and urban-based) and matched controls | 2010 | Observational cohort | n = 127 |