Scheer Jillian R, McConocha Erin, Behari Kriti, Pachankis John E
Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.
Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.
Psychol Sex. 2021;12(1-2):37-51. doi: 10.1080/19419899.2019.1690031. Epub 2019 Nov 22.
Sexual violence exposure represents a serious public health issue among female youth given its association with female youths' engagement in health-risk behaviours. Sexual minority female youth are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence exposure, alcohol use, suicidality, and sexual-risk behaviour. Using the population-based 2017 Youth Risk Behaviour Survey, we examined sexual violence as a mediator of sexual orientation disparities in health-risk behaviours among female youth. This study included 7,532 female students in grades 9 through 12 across the US. Participants identified their sexual orientation as heterosexual (73.5%); bisexual (12.2%); and, gay or lesbian (2.2%). Compared to heterosexual female youth, sexual violence exposure, alcohol use, binge drinking, and multiple sex partners were more common among bisexual female youth. The elevated risk of suicidality was most notable among gay or lesbian female youth relative to heterosexual female youth and bisexual female youth relative to heterosexual female youth. Mediation analyses showed that sexual violence exposure partially explained the sexual orientation disparity in these co-occurring health-risk behaviours between bisexual female youth and heterosexual female youth. Our findings highlight the need for clinical attention to be paid to assessing and treating the health effects of sexual violence, especially among bisexual female youth.
鉴于性暴力暴露与青年女性参与健康风险行为有关，它已成为青年女性中的一个严重公共卫生问题。性少数群体青年女性尤其容易遭受性暴力暴露、饮酒、自杀行为和性风险行为。利用基于人群的2017年青少年风险行为调查，我们研究了性暴力作为青年女性健康风险行为中性取向差异的一个中介因素。本研究纳入了美国9至12年级的7532名女学生。参与者将自己的性取向确定为异性恋（73.5%）、双性恋（12.2%）以及同性恋（2.2%）。与异性恋青年女性相比，双性恋青年女性中，性暴力暴露、饮酒、暴饮以及有多个性伴侣的情况更为常见。相对于异性恋青年女性，同性恋青年女性自杀风险升高最为显著；相对于异性恋青年女性，双性恋青年女性自杀风险也有所升高。中介分析表明，性暴力暴露部分解释了双性恋青年女性与异性恋青年女性在这些共同出现的健康风险行为中的性取向差异。我们的研究结果强调，临床需要关注评估和治疗性暴力对健康的影响，尤其是在双性恋青年女性中。
