Department of Sociology, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS 67260-0025, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2013 Mar;42(3):376-93. doi: 10.1007/s10964-012-9865-5. Epub 2012 Nov 30.
Existing research suggests that sexual minority youth experience lower levels of well-being, in part because they perceive less social support than heterosexual youth. Sexual minority youth with strong family relationships may demonstrate resilience and increased well-being; however, it is also possible that the experience of sexual stigma may make these relationships less protective for sexual minority youth. Using two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we explore the links between same-sex attraction, family relationships, and adolescent well-being in a sample of over 13,000 7th-12th grade adolescents (51 % female, 52 % non-Latino/a white, 17 % Latino, 21 % African American, and 7 % Asian). Specifically, we examine whether lower levels of parental closeness, parental involvement, and family support among same-sex attracted youth explain in part why these youth experience increased depressive symptoms and risk behaviors, including binge drinking, illegal drug use, and running away from home, relative to other-sex attracted youth. Second, we ask whether family relationships are equally protective against depressive symptoms and risk behaviors for same-sex attracted and other-sex attracted youth. We find that same-sex attracted youth, particularly girls, report higher levels of depressive symptoms, binge drinking, and drug use in part because they perceive less closeness with parents and less support from their families. Results also suggest that parental closeness and parental involvement may be less protective against risk behaviors for same-sex attracted boys than for their other-sex attracted peers. Findings thus suggest that interventions targeting the families of sexual minority youth should educate parents about the potentially negative effects of heteronormative assumptions and attitudes on positive adolescent development.
现有研究表明，性少数群体青年的幸福感较低，部分原因是他们感知到的社会支持比异性恋青年少。与家庭关系牢固的性少数群体青年可能表现出更强的适应力和更高的幸福感；然而，性污名的经历也可能使这些关系对性少数群体青年的保护作用降低。本研究使用全国青少年纵向健康研究的两波数据，在一个由 13000 多名 7 至 12 年级青少年组成的样本中（51%为女性，52%为非拉丁裔白人，17%为拉丁裔，21%为非裔美国人，7%为亚裔），探讨了同性吸引、家庭关系与青少年幸福感之间的联系。具体来说，我们检验了同性吸引青少年中父母亲密程度、父母参与度和家庭支持程度较低是否部分解释了为什么这些青少年比异性吸引青少年经历更多的抑郁症状和风险行为，包括酗酒、非法药物使用和离家出走。其次，我们询问家庭关系是否同样能保护同性吸引和异性吸引青少年免受抑郁症状和风险行为的影响。我们发现，同性吸引青少年，尤其是女孩，报告的抑郁症状、酗酒和药物使用水平较高，部分原因是他们与父母的亲密程度较低，家庭支持较少。研究结果还表明，父母的亲密程度和参与度对同性吸引男孩的风险行为的保护作用可能不如对其异性吸引同伴的保护作用。这些发现表明，针对性少数群体青年家庭的干预措施应教育父母了解异性规范假设和态度对青少年积极发展的潜在负面影响。
