Familial Factors, Victimization, and Psychological Health Among Sexual Minority Adolescents in Sweden

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine the influences of victimization experience and familial factors on the association between sexual minority status and psychological health outcomes among adolescents. METHODS: We used data from the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden, a prospective, population-based study of all twins born in Sweden since 1992. Cross-sectional analyses included individuals who completed assessments at age 18 years (n = 4898) from 2000 to 2013. We also compared psychological health among sexual minority adolescents and their nonminority co-twins. RESULTS: Sexual minority adolescents were more likely than were unrelated nonminority adolescents to report victimization experiences, including emotional abuse, physical abuse or neglect, and sexual abuse. Sexual minority adolescents also reported significantly more symptoms of anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, disordered eating, and substance misuse in addition to increased parent-reported behavior problems. Victimization experience partially mediated these associations. However, when controlling for unmeasured familial confounding factors by comparing sexual minority adolescents to their same-sex, nonminority co-twins, the effect of sexual minority status on psychological health was almost entirely attenuated. CONCLUSIONS: Familial factors-common genetic or environmental influences-may explain decreased psychological adjustment among sexual minority adolescents.