Abstract
Background: We investigated whether adolescents drank alcohol less frequently if they lived in jurisdictions with school climates that were more affirmative of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals. Methods: Data from the 2010 School Health Profile survey, which measured LGBTQ school climate (e.g., percentage of schools with safe spaces and gay-straight alliances), were linked with pooled data from the 2005 and 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which measured sexual orientation identity, demographics, and alcohol use (number of drinking days, drinking days at school, and heavy episodic drinking days) in 8 jurisdictions. Two-level Poisson models tested the associations between school climate and alcohol use for each sexual-orientation subgroup. Results: Living in jurisdictions with more (versus less) affirmative LGBTQ school climates was significantly associated with: fewer heavy episodic drinking days for gay/lesbian (incidence-rate ratio [IRR] = 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56, 0.87; p = 0.001) and heterosexual (IRR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.83; p < 0.001) adolescents; and fewer drinking days at school for adolescents unsure of their sexual orientation (IRR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.93; p = 0.024). Conclusions: Fostering LGBTQ-affirmative school climates may reduce certain drinking behaviors for gay/lesbian adolescents, heterosexual adolescents, and adolescents unsure of their sexual orientation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 340-347 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Drug and Alcohol Dependence |
| Volume | 161 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2016 |
Funding
This research article was supported by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (award R21HD051178), the National Institute of Drug Abuse (awards F31DA037647, K01DA032558, and K08DA037825),and the IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program at North-western University. This project was made possible with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health and the work of the state and local health and education departments that conducted the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). We also extend our gratitude to the students who volunteered their time to complete questionnaires. We would like to thank Drs. Aimee Van Wagenen and Brian Mustanski for their role in creating the pooled dataset. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, the CDC, or any agencies involved in collecting the data. This research article was supported by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (award R21HD051178 ), the National Institute of Drug Abuse (awards F31DA037647 , K01DA032558 , and K08DA037825 ), and the I MPACT LGBT Health and Development Program at Northwestern University . This project was made possible with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health and the work of the state and local health and education departments that conducted the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). We also extend our gratitude to the students who volunteered their time to complete questionnaires. We would like to thank Drs. Aimee Van Wagenen and Brian Mustanski for their role in creating the pooled data set. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, the CDC, or any agencies involved in collecting the data.
Keywords
- Adolescents
- Alcohol use
- Heavy episodic drinking
- School climate
- Sexual orientation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)
- Toxicology
- Pharmacology
