Teen Victims of Violence

By Julia McNamee Neenan
HealthScoutNews Reporter

FRIDAY, June 22 (HealthScoutNews) -- Homosexual and bisexual teens are no more likely to get into fights than other teens, but the fights they do get into are more likely to land them in a doctor's office, says a new study.

Further, homosexual and bisexual teens were more likely than straight teens to be jumped or violently attacked and more likely to witness violent acts. Also, homosexual teens were twice as likely as other teens to be violent to someone else.

But, the study's authors say homosexual teens apparently are violent only if they've been physically hurt or seen other people being violent. Perhaps, the authors say, those experiences create "feelings of fear and the need for self-defense," leading some teen-agers to become violent.

The study is based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, particularly answers from more than 10,000 students from all high schools and the largest junior highs throughout the country about sexual preferences. The study found about 1 percent of students said they were attracted to their own sex; 5 percent said they were attracted to both sexes; more than 82 percent said they were attracted to the opposite sex, and more than 11 percent cited neither sex. The finding are reported in the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

When researchers adjusted for family background and the character of the teen-agers' neighborhoods, gay, lesbian and bisexual kids weren't at any greater risk of physical fights, but what fighting there was tended to be more intense. Gays and lesbians were 93 percent more likely to need medical attention after a brawl, as were 57 percent of bisexuals. Gay and lesbian teens were 86 percent more likely to be victims of a "violent attack" than straight teens, and bisexual teens were 43 percent more likely to be victims of a "violent attack" than straight teens.

"Gay and lesbian people often experience what they call 'overkill' because the violence of a hate crime is extreme," says lead study author Stephen T. Russell, a youth development specialist at the University of California at Davis. While those kids aren't different from other high school students and are just as likely to get into fights, "it's the outcome of the fights that seems to be particularly worse," he says.

The United States is at best ambivalent about homosexuality and at worst hostile, and few parents seem to discuss the topic with their children, Russell says. "It means the kids are handling it themselves, and that gets translated as violence."

Only those who'd been victims of violence or who'd seen violent acts were likely to commit violence themselves, the study says. Homosexual youths were 68 percent more likely to have admitted they pulled a gun or knife, or shot or stabbed someone in the previous 12 months, but this likelihood disappeared when adjusted for having experienced violence, the researchers say.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual kids may tend to hang out together, meaning they've seen each other beaten up or otherwise victimized, Russell says. That, combined with their own experiences of being victimized, may help create a climate of fear that prompts the students to take matters into their own hands when they feel threatened, he says.

In fact, compared to their straight peers, lesbian and gay teens were 89 percent more likely, and bisexual teens were 48 percent more likely to have witnessed violence. The differences between straight teens and others in this respect may stem from the areas kids gravitate to when they want to feel safe, Russell says. Gay bars, for instance, often are in relatively unsafe areas of cities and intended for adults.

The study's findings are mirrored in many other studies, says Joe Kosciw, research program manager for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network in New York City. For example, one study finds that gay, lesbian and bisexual students are so afraid of violence that they skip school more often than their peers, he says.

In addition to parents taking a more active role, Kosciw says schools can set and then enforce policies against harassment and bullying. Also, he says teachers can be trained to be sensitive to both violence and homosexuality in general.

What To Do

For resources on how to help gay, lesbian and bisexual teen-agers, try the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. And Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays has more on how to create safer environments for teen-agers in its Safe Schools Campaign.