Sexual Orientation, Risk and Resilience Study

Saewyc, E.M., Skay, C.L., Pettingell, S.E. (2004). Hazards of stigma: The sexual and physical abuse of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents in the U.S. and Canada. [Abstract]. Journal of Adolescent Health, 34(2): 115-116.

Saewyc E, Pettingell S, Skay C. (2004). Suicide ideation and attempts in North American school-based surveys: Are bisexual youth at increasing risk? [Abstract] Journal of Adolescent Health, 34(2): 138

Saewyc, E.M., Pettingell, S.L., Skay, C.L. (2004). Teen pregnancy among sexual minority youth in population-based surveys of the 1990s: Countertrends in a population at risk. [Abstract] Journal of Adolescent Health, 34(2): 125-126.

Saewyc E.M., Skay C.L., Pettingell S., Murphy A., Reis E. (2003). HIV Risk Behaviors among Adolescents in the Pacific Northwest. [Abstract] published on-line for American Public Health Association annual meeting, held November 2003 in San Francisco.

Saewyc, Elizabeth M., Skay, Carol L., Pettingell, Sandra, Murphy, Aileen, Poon, Colleen. (2003). Sexual orientation, gender, and teen pregnancy among adolescents in Canada and the U.S. [Abstract] Proceedings of the International Congress on Women’s Health Issues, June 2003 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

McCreary’s AHS I and AHS II are 2 of 9 teen health surveys from around the US and Canada being used to explore the links between sexual orientation, health, and risk behaviours, especially for bisexual teens. A team of researchers from the Centre for Adolescent Nursing at the University of Minnesota, led by Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, began this study in 2001, funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, NIH. The study will end June 2005.

The team has explored the different ways sexual orientation is measured in youth surveys, and developed recommendations for future studies and health surveys (read article on Journal of Adolescent Health website or view pdf). They have documented a number of consistent findings across the different surveys for gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens. While the majority of sexual minority teens are healthy and doing well, when compared to heterosexual teens they still have higher risks of sexual and physical abuse, harassment in school, greater likelihood of emotional distress and suicide attempts, higher HIV risk behaviors including IV drug use, increased odds of pregnancy involvement, and fewer protective factors, such as less family, school, and community support in their lives.

Ongoing research in the project includes exploring risks and supports in the lives of GLB teens who report pregnancy involvement, as well as for teen parents (in US surveys), identifying risk and protective factors associated with recent suicidal attempts, risk and protective factors for HIV risk behaviors among American Indian youth, suicidal thoughts and attempts among Asian-American youth, and contraceptive behaviors and violence involvement across several surveys. Findings have been presented at a variety of national and international conferences, and papers are in process.