Substance use in sexual minority youth: prevalence in an urban cohort.
Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health September 16, 2023 Florian Vock, Lydia Johnson-Ferguson, Laura Bechtiger et al. 3 citations
Sexual minority youth (SMY) and heterosexual youth differ in substance use rates, with SMY-females showing higher use of cannabis, ecstasy/MDMA, and hallucinogens at age 17, and also tobacco and stimulants by age 20. SMY-males reported lower tobacco and cannabis use at age 17 but higher ecstasy/MDMA and hallucinogen use at age 20. Psychosocial factors such as internalizing symptoms, self-control, and peer influences partly explain these differences. The findings highlight the need for targeted prevention, especially for SMY-females early in life.