Adverse Childhood Experiences Among LGBTQ+ High School Students
National Evidence From the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11036869 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joel Mittleman (0000-0001-6353-7890, Joel Mittleman is with the Department of Sociology and the Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia., corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 115 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1137-1145 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048 |
| Publisher | American Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2105/ajph.2025.308094 |
| PMID | 40340463 |
| OpenAlex | W4410201529 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 35 |
Objectives. To provide population-representative estimates of US high school students’ exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), separately by sexual orientation, gender identity, and 3 demographic moderators: sex assigned at birth, race/ethnicity, and age. Methods. Using data from the 2023 US National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 12 131), this cross-sectional study calculated descriptive statistics, estimated multivariable regressions, and screened for mischievous respondents. Results. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+) students reported elevated exposure to 8 separate ACEs, with a cumulative ACE score of 3.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.9, 3.1), compared with 1.8 (95% CI = 1.7, 1.9) among cisgender-heterosexual (cishet) students. This pattern held across all demographic subgroups and could not be explained by mischievous responders. Nearly half (46.1%; 95% CI = 39.7, 52.5) of all gender minorities reported 4 or more ACEs, compared with 34.5% (95% CI = 30.9, 38.0) of cisgender sexual minorities and 15.4% (95% CI = 14.2, 16.7) of cishet students. Conclusions. The first national ACE prevalence data for US high school students show that LGBTQ+ youths—particularly transgender youths—face far greater levels of abuse, neglect, and other adversities than cishet youths. ( Am J Public Health. 2025;115(7):1137–1145. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308094 )
Confidence interval · Environmental health · Ethnic group · Human sexuality · Lesbian · Poison control · Population · Sexual identity · Sexual minority · Sexual orientation · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Transgender · Youth Risk Behavior Survey · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Child Abuse and Trauma · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Gender Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology
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Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Risk of Premature Mortality
Screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
Health of Non-binary and Genderqueer People
Adverse childhood experiences, allostasis, allostatic load, and age-related disease
Vital Signs
Effects of early life stress on cognitive and affective function
The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health
Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults
Mitigating invalid and mischievous survey responses
The frequencies and disparities of adverse childhood experiences in the U.S
Inclusion of Expanded Adverse Childhood Experiences in Research About Racial/Ethnic Substance Use Disparities
Bias From Potentially Mischievous Responders on Large-Scale Estimates of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Questioning (LGBQ)–Heterosexual Youth Health Disparities
Adverse Childhood Experiences Related to Poor Adult Health Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals
Health Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Minorities With Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experiences Across Birth Generation and LGBTQ + Identity, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2019
Making the “C-ACE” for a Culturally-Informed Adverse Childhood Experiences Framework to Understand the Pervasive Mental Health Impact of Racism on Black Youth
Stable and Shifting Sexualities among American High School Students, 2015 to 2021
Refusing Gender
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |