Purpose: A number of factors may contribute to disparities in mental health and suicidality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) students, including parental abuse.
Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey included a nationally representative sample of US high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current analyses examined experiences of verbal and physical abuse in the home with mental health and suicidality among LGBQ students compared to heterosexual students.
Results: The relationship between abuse and mental health and suicidality was significant for all students; however, LGBQ students experienced substantially more abuse and had significantly poorer mental health and greater suicidality than heterosexual students.
Discussion: Experiencing verbal or physical abuse in the home is strongly associated with poor mental health and suicidality among youth, regardless of sexual identity; however, among LGBQ students who experienced abuse, the prevalence of poor mental health and suicidality reached crisis levels.
Keywords: Abuse; LGBTQ youth; Mental health; Suicidality; Violence.
Published by Elsevier Inc.