Poteat V Paul, Scheer Jillian R, DiGiovanni Craig D, Mereish Ethan H
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA,
J Youth Adolesc. 2014 Aug;43(8):1240-51. doi: 10.1007/s10964-013-0078-3. Epub 2013 Dec 13.
Many heterosexual youth report homophobic victimization but there is little longitudinal research to examine its mental health consequences for them. In a 7-month study across an academic school year among 572 heterosexual high school students (55% females), we tested the short-term effects of homophobic victimization on anxiety and depressive symptoms with attention to gender differences. Homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year predicted higher levels of concurrent anxiety over and above levels attributable to general victimization. Further, when controlling for initial anxiety and general victimization, homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year predicted increased anxiety at the end of the school year for males, but not for females. Homophobic victimization across time points was more strongly associated for males than females, and this accounted for why initial homophobic victimization predicted increased anxiety for males but not females (i.e., it was indicative of mediated moderation). In contrast, homophobic victimization at the beginning of the school year did not predict concurrent depressive symptoms over and above general victimization. Similarly, although it predicted increased depressive symptoms at the end of the school year for males but not for females, the effect was weaker than for anxiety. These findings underscore that the effects of homophobic victimization are not temporary, particularly as they pertain to anxiety, and underscore the need to consider the nature of the victimization that youth experience, including for heterosexual youth.
许多异性恋青少年报告遭受过恐同欺凌，但很少有纵向研究来考察其对他们心理健康的影响。在一项为期7个月、涵盖一整个学年的研究中，我们对572名异性恋高中生（55%为女生）进行了调查，测试了恐同欺凌对焦虑和抑郁症状的短期影响，并关注了性别差异。学年开始时的恐同欺凌预示着，除了一般欺凌所导致的焦虑水平之外，同时期的焦虑水平更高。此外，在控制了初始焦虑和一般欺凌之后，学年开始时的恐同欺凌预示着学年结束时男生的焦虑会增加，但女生不会。随着时间推移，恐同欺凌对男生的影响比对女生的影响更强，这就解释了为什么初始的恐同欺凌预示着男生而非女生的焦虑会增加（即，这表明存在中介调节作用）。相比之下，学年开始时的恐同欺凌在一般欺凌之外，并不能预示同时期的抑郁症状。同样，虽然它预示着学年结束时男生的抑郁症状会增加，但女生不会，不过这种影响比对焦虑的影响要弱。这些发现强调，恐同欺凌的影响并非是暂时的，尤其是对焦虑的影响，同时也强调需要考虑青少年所经历的欺凌的性质，包括异性恋青少年。
