Peer Victimization and Dating Violence Among LGBTQ Youth

• DOI: 10.1177/1541204016680408
• Published date: 01 April 2018
• Author: Tyler Hatchel,Gabriel J. Merrin,Dorothy L. Espelage
• Date: 01 April 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Peer Victimization and Dating

Violence Among LGBTQ Youth:

The Impact of School Violence

and Crime on Mental

Health Outcomes

Dorothy L. Espelage

1

, Gabriel J. Merrin

1

, and Tyler Hatchel

1

Abstract

This study examined the moderating role of school violence and peer victimization on the associ-

ation between sexual orientation and mental health. The sample consisted of 11,794 high school

students (M

age

¼16, SD ¼1.23; female assigned at birth ¼51%; 1.8% identified as transgender)

across 23 schools. Participants completed a self-report survey that assessed sexual orientation,

ethnicity, gender identity, victimization experiences (e.g., peer and dating), perceptions of school

violence and crime, as well as anxiety and suicidality. Multilevel analyses indicated that lesbian, gay,

bisexual, questioning, and transgender (LGBTQ) individuals with lower rates of victimization had

significantly lower rates of suicidality compared to LGBTQ individuals with higher rates of victi-

mization. LGBTQ individuals in schools with high student perceptions of school violence and crime

had higher suicidality than their non-LGBTQ counterparts. LGBTQ youth in schools with lower

school violence and crime levels had lower rates of suicidality than their non-LGBTQ counterparts.

Interventions need to consider multiple forms of victimization and school environment as potential

risk and protective factors for LGBTQ youth.

Keywords

victimization, teen dating violence, school violence and crime, sexual minority youth, LGBTQ youth

Peer victimization, bullying, and other forms of youth violence are common in U.S. schools (Robers,

Zhang, Morgan, & Musu-Gillette, 2015). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, and transgender youth

(LGBTQ) often experience elevated levels of peer victimization when compared to their non-

LGBTQ peers (D’Augelli et al., 2005; Eisenberg & Resnick, 2006; Espelage, Aragon, Birkett, &

Koenig, 2008; Robinson & Espelage, 2012). According to the 2013 National School Climate

Survey, including a nationally representative sample of 8,854 students in Grades 6–12 from over

1

Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Dorothy L. Espelage, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign,

IL 61820, USA.

Email: espelage@illinois.edu

Youth Violence and JuvenileJustice

2018, Vol. 16(2) 156-173

ªThe Author(s) 2016

Reprints and permission:

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DOI: 10.1177/1541204016680408

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3,200 school districts across the United State s, 74%of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and tra nsgender

(LGBT) youth reported being verbally harassed in the past year (Kosciw, Greytak, Palmer, &

Boesen, 2014). Furthermore, they also found that 36%reported being physically harassed and

16%were physically assaulted. All of these forms of victimization were perceived to be related

to the victim’s sexual orientation or gender expression. With respect to other forms of aggression,

results from the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that lesbian, gay, and bisexual

(LGB) youth were significantly more likely (i.e., 35%vs. 8%) than their heterosexual counterparts to

experience teen dating violence (TDV; Massachusetts Department of Education, 2006). From

another nationally representative sample, Halpern, Young, Waller, Martin, and Kupper (2004) found

that 25%of adolescents in same-sex dating relationships reported some form of relationship abuse.

Likewise, Dank, Lachman, Zweig, and Yahner (2014) found that transgender youth reported higher

rates of TDV victimization when compared to nontransgender youth. There is substantial empirical

evidence illustrating the prevalence of victimization among LGBTQ youth, and these experiences

have concerning consequences.

The pathways linking sexual orientation/gender expression and mental health issues are poten-

tially shaped by various forms of victimization. Many studies have found that LGBTQ youth are at a

significant higher risk for suicidal ideation and behavior (Eisenberg & Resnick, 2006; Liu &

Mustanski, 2012; Marshal et al., 2011; Ybarra, Mitchell, Kosciw, & Korchmaros, 2015). In a

representative sample of 1,988 high school students, Bontempo and D’Augelli (2002) found that

LGB youth who reported higher levels of victimization also reported higher levels of suicidality

when compared to their non-LGB peers. Similarly, Robinson and Espelage (2012) completed a

cross-sectional study with 11,337 students in seventh to ninth grade (588 of whom identified as

lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning [LGBQ]) and found that peer victimization was associated

with greater suicidality and poor academic outcomes among LGBQ youth. However, fewer studies

have examined the extent to which TDV contribute to mental health issues. This is an important

issue because the combination of multiple victimization experiences may prove especially deleter-

ious. In order to address the insufficient scholarship in this area, this article focuses on TDV and peer

victimization as predictors of mental health issues (i.e., anxiety, suicidality) among LGBTQ and

their non-LGBTQ peers.

Minority Stress and LGBTQ Mental Health

The seminal minority stress model has been used to understand why LGBTQ individuals present

with higher rates of adverse outcomes (Meyer, 2003), like an increased prevalence of suicidality

(Meyer, Frost, & Neshad, 2014). Minority stress has been conceptualized as strain arising from the

social position of LGBTQ individuals as a stigmatized, disadvantaged, and oppressed group in

society (Meyer et al., 2014). Meyer (2003) proposed that the health disparities (e.g., anxiety,

depression, and suicidality) between LGBTQ and their non-LGBTQ peers might be explained by

stressors prompted by a homophobic and stigmatizing culture. Also, the disadvantaged social posi-

tion of LGBTQ individuals exposes them to particular forms of stress (i.e., victimization and

bullying) in addition to fewer resources for coping (i.e., social support; Meyer, Schwartz, & Frost,

2008). The combination of stigma-related s tressors with typical daily stressors offe rs a helpful

framework that explains the health disparities ever-present among LGBTQ youth.

LGBTQ Youth and TDV

Most of the literature on minority stress and victimization among LGBTQ youth has focused on

bullying and peer victimization specific to their identity (i.e., homophobic teasing). However,

scholars have started to expand their conceptualization of victimization by examining TDV among

Espelage et al. 157