School Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2002, pp. 148–167
Incidence and Mental Health Impact of Sexual
Orientation Victimization of Lesbian, Gay, and
Bisexual Youths in High School
Anthony R. D’Augelli
The Pennsylvania State University
Neil W. Pilkington
Scott L. Hershberger
California State University-Long Beach
This study examined victimization during high school based on sexual orientation of 350
lesbian, gay, or bisexual (lgb) youths aged 21 and younger. Experiences of direct victimization as well as knowledge of other lgb youths’ victimization were assessed. Over half
reported verbal abuse in high school because of their sexual orientation, and 11% said
they had been physically assaulted. Youths who were more open in high school about
their sexual orientation and who had a history of more gender atypical behavior were victimized more often. Male youths were targeted significantly more often than females.
Youths’ current mental health symptoms, especially traumatic stress reactions, were associated with having experienced more verbal abuse in high school.
Research suggests that young lesbian, gay, and bisexual (lgb) youths are often
the victims of attacks ranging from verbal harassment to physical assault
(D’Augelli & Dark, 1995; Dean, Wu, & Martin, 1992; Rivers & D’Augelli,
2001). Much of this victimization occurs while the youths are at school. Few
The authors wish to acknowledge the many lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths who participated in this
project as well as the group leaders, facilitators, and people in each group who assisted with the distribution of the survey instrument. Arnold H. Grossman and Frank C. Worrell are thanked for their
helpful comments on an earlier version.
Completion of this report was facilitated by Grant RO1-MH58155 from the National Institute of
Mental Health to the first author.
Address correspondence to Anthony R. D’Augelli, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; E-mail: ard@psu.edu.
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IMPACT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION VICTIMIZATION 149
studies have examined this issue directly, and studies of predictors of victimization of youths in high schools (e.g., Alvarez & Bachman, 1997; Bennett & Fineran, 1998; Fitzpatrick, 1999) have ignored differential victimization based on
sexual orientation. Most population-based studies of high school students, which
could provide accurate estimates of the scope of this problem, have not included
questions about this issue (see Kingery, Coggeshall, & Alford, 1998). A national
study of high school students found that 17% have been called gay or lesbian at
school, and that more males (23%) than females (10%) were verbally harassed in
this way (American Association of University Women, 1993). No other form of
verbal harassment was deemed as distressing by students. This study, however,
did not query the sexual orientation of respondents.
Early studies of sexual orientation victimization of youths were conducted
using convenience samples of participants attending social programs or support
groups, or those receiving social services. One of the first projects to examine
the types of victimization lgb youths experience was conducted in the United
Kingdom by Trenchard and Warren (1984). Of 416 young lesbians and gay
males studied, 39% had experienced some form of victimization. Nearly onequarter (21%) reported verbal abuse, 13% had been teased, 12% had been physically attacked, 7% had been shunned by their peers, and a further 7% said they
had been pressured to change their behavior (Warren, 1984). In the United
States, comparable studies of the school experiences of lgb youths have also
found that victimization based on sexual orientation is common. A study by Remafedi (1987) of gay male youths found that over half experienced peer verbal
abuse and nearly one-third reported physical assaults, much of which presumably occurred in school. In a survey of adult lesbians and gay men in Pennsylvania, Gross, Aurant, and Addessa (1988) found that 50% of gay men and 12% of
lesbians had been victimized in junior high school; 59% of the gay men and 21%
of the lesbians reported victimization in high school. Gross, Aurant, and Addessa (1996) found that 50% of gay men and about 30% of lesbians in Pennsylvania reported some victimization by classmates. Berrill (1990) estimated the
extent of school-based victimization of young lesbians and gay males in the U.S.
to range from 33% to 49%. Of the 194 lgb youths studied by Pilkington and
D’Augelli (1995), 30% of the males and 35% of the females had experienced
some form of harassment or verbal abuse related to their sexual orientation in
school; youths reported that the victimization had inhibited their openness about
their sexual orientation. Using a representative sample of Massachusetts high
school students, and comparing lgb-identified youths with heterosexual youths,
Garofalo, Wolf, Kessel, Palfrey, and DuRant (1998) found that one-quarter of
the lgb youths said they had missed school in the last month because of fear,
compared to 5% of the non-lgb youths. This finding reflects other differences in
school-based violence experienced by the lgb youths compared to heterosexual
students. One-third of the lgb youths said they had been threatened with a
weapon at school, compared to 7% of the other youths. More than one-third
(38%) of the lgb youths were involved in fights at school, in contrast to 14% of
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the other students. And half of the lgb youths reported property damage at school
compared to 29% of the other youths.
DuRant, Krowchuk, and Sinal (1998) found similar results in a survey of Vermont male high school students. In their study, the number of male sexual partners (used as a proxy for same-sex sexual orientation) was significantly related
to different kinds of victimization. Compared to males with multiple female
partners, males with multiple male sexual partners were significantly more likely
to be in fights at school, to require medical attention after fights in school, to be
threatened with violence, and to be threatened with a weapon. Many studies have
also documented a high level of victimization directed to lgb students at colleges
and universities (D’Augelli, 1992; Evans, 2001; Evans & D’Augelli, 1995;
Waldo, Hesson-McInnis, & D’Augelli, 1998).
This study examined retrospectively the relationship between past victimization based on sexual orientation directed toward lgb youths at high school and
youths’ current mental health. Earlier research has shown the victimization of
lgb youths based on their sexual orientation is associated with mental health
problems (Hershberger & D’Augelli, 1995). That study did not focus on victimization in a particular setting. In contrast, this study investigated the experiences of a geographically diverse sample of youths with verbal and physical
sexual orientation victimization (SOV) in high school, as well as their fears of
victimization in school. The experiences of female and male youths were also
compared. Analyses explored the relationship of youths’ experiences of sexual
orientation victimization to mental health indicators—overall mental health
symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and suicidality. The association of
youths’ identifiability as lgb in high school—their openness about their sexual
orientation and their gender atypicality—with their being victimized in high
school was examined. It was expected that youths who had been open about
their sexual identities for longer periods of time and who were gender atypical
in appearance and behavior would experience more victimization in high
school.
METHOD
Participants
Several strategies were employed to generate a diverse sample of lgb youths.
These procedures are described in more detail elsewhere (D’Augelli, Hershberger, & Pilkington, 2001), and will be presented only briefly here.
Social and recreational groups for lgb youths located in diverse parts of the
United States and Canada were asked to participate. The groups were located
using published lists of such groups; an Internet announcement about the study
was also used to bring the project to youth groups’ attention.
Twenty-eight youth groups in the United States, representing 20 states, and 8
IMPACT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION VICTIMIZATION
151
groups from 5 provinces in Canada, agreed to participate. A youth group in New
Zealand that responded to the Internet posting was also included. In addition, 20
college or university lgb student organizations, 15 in the United States and 5 in
Canada, took part in the study.1
An adult contact person involved with each group was identified. Youths were
recruited through the contact persons. Groups agreeing to participate were sent
packets containing the number of questionnaires contact people requested.
Approximately 1,000 surveys were mailed to the contact people, who distributed the surveys in group meetings. A total of 552 surveys were returned. The
overall sample was subsequently reduced to create a more homogeneous group
for analysis. Respondents over the age of 21 were excluded to create a sample of
similar age to the investigators’ previous research. Current sexual orientation
served as the next exclusionary criterion. Youths who identified as heterosexual,
bisexual but mostly heterosexual, or uncertain of their sexual orientation, were
also dropped.
The final sample consisted of 350 youths; 56% were male and 44% female. Of
males, 83% identified as gay; 64% of females identified as lesbian. Sixteen percent of males and 24% of females said they were bisexual, but mostly gay or lesbian. One percent of males and 12% of females identified as bisexual, equally
gay/lesbian and heterosexual. Significantly more females than males self-identified as bisexual (36% vs. 17%), ␹2(2) = 24.66, p < .001.
The average age was 19.2 (SD = 1.4). Seven percent were from 14 to 17 years
old; 48% were either 18 or 19; and 44% were 20 or 21. About three-quarters
(78%) were White; 8% were of African descent, 3% were Puerto Rican, 4%
were Asian, and 1% were Native American or Canadian Indian. Five percent
identified their racial/ethnic status as “other.”
Three-quarters (73%) resided in the United States, 25% were Canadian, and
2% were members of the New Zealand youth group. One-quarter (26%) said
they lived in major metropolitan areas; 17% lived in small cities; 30% lived in
medium towns or suburbs; 14% lived in small towns; and 12% lived in rural
areas. More than one-third (44%) of all youths lived at home with their parents
or other family members; 16% lived with friends; and 13% lived alone. Fourteen
percent lived with roommates on a college campus, and 8% lived with same-sex
partners.
For youths reporting current schooling (n = 335), 17% were still in high
school, 59% were in college, and 3% were in some other form of school. Nearly
one-quarter (22%) were not in school.
1
Groups were located in these states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, HI, KY, MA, MI, MN, NJ, NY, OH,
PA, TX, UT, VT, WA, and WI. Canadian groups were in these provinces: British Columbia, Nova
Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Québec. American universities or colleges were in CA, GA, IL,
NC, NE, NY, OH, OR, PA, and WA; Canadian universities were in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario,
and Québec.
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D’AUGELLI ET AL.
Instrument
Participants were administered an extensive questionnaire requiring approximately one hour to complete in group sessions under the supervision of the adult
contact person. Information was sought about the development of participants’
sexual orientation, social aspects of their sexual orientation, others’ knowledge
of and responses to their sexual orientation, victimization experiences related to
sexual orientation, and a range of mental health symptoms, including traumatic
stress and suicidality. Only the components of the instrument relevant to the current analyses will be described here; the full questionnaire is available from the
first author. The instrument was an expanded version of a questionnaire used in
our earlier research (D’Augelli & Hershberger, 1993).
Youths were asked to identify their current sexual orientation by selecting one
of six options: (a) gay or lesbian; (b) bisexual, but mostly gay or lesbian; (c) bisexual, equally gay/lesbian and heterosexual; (d) bisexual, but mostly heterosexual; (e) heterosexual; or (f) uncertain. Youths were also asked a number of questions about the development of their sexual orientation. They were asked at what
age they first experienced same-sex sexual feelings, their first self-identification
as lgb, and their first disclosure of their sexual orientation to someone else. The
number of years youths had been “out,” that is, how long their sexual orientation
had been disclosed to others, was approximated by subtracting the age of their
first disclosure from their chronological age.
Lgb identifiability and gender atypicality. Identifiability as lgb during the
high school years was assessed by an item that asked, “While you were in high
school, how open were you about being lgb?” This item was answered on a 5point scale ranging from 1 = “Completely,” to 5 = “Not at all.” Youths completed a measure of gender atypicality, the Boyhood Gender Conformity Scale
(Hockingberry & Billingham, 1987), as previously modified by Phillips and
Over (1992). Each item reflects how often during childhood the respondent
acted or thought in a manner typically associated with the opposite sex. The
Phillips and Over items, originally designed for males only, were supplemented
in this study with items of parallel content for girls (sample item for boys: “I was
considered a ‘sissy’”; sample item for girls: “I was considered a ‘tomboy’”). The
modified scale contained 16 items. Participants were asked to indicate the extent
to which each item described them as children (i.e., under 13 years of age), with
response options ranging from 0 = “Never” to 6 = “Always.” A mean gender
atypicality score was computed separately for each gender by averaging participants’ responses to items appropriate to their gender. Higher scores reflected
higher gender atypicality. A factor analysis with a one-factor solution determined that 4 items were weakly related to the primary factor obtained, and these
items were dropped. Cronbach’s alpha for scores from the revised 12-item scale
was .77 for males and .91 for females. In a separate item, youths were also asked
if they were considered “sissies” or “tomboys” while they were growing up.
Sexual orientation victimization. Two types of SOV at school were assessed:
IMPACT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION VICTIMIZATION
153
vicarious SOV and direct SOV. Vicarious SOV was defined as youths’ knowledge of other high school lgb youths’ victimization. The victimization of other
lgb youths was ascertained using this question, “Excluding yourself, how many
incidents happened to anyone in your high school who was lgb?” Types of incidents were: (a) verbal insults, (b) threats of violence, (c) property damage, (d)
objects thrown, (e) chased or followed, (f) punched, kicked, or beaten, (g) spat
upon, (h) hit or wounded with a weapon, (i) attacked sexually, and (j) shunned
by others. The number of incidents for each type was requested separately for
male and female victims. Youths’ numerical responses were sorted into four categories: 1 = “Never,” 2 = “Once,” 3 = “Twice,” and 4 = “Three or more times.”
Mean scores were computed for incidents involving males, incidents involving
females, and the total number of incidents. Youths were also asked how many
lgb people they knew in high school.
Direct SOV, incidents in which the youth was the target of verbal or physical
attack in high school because of his or her sexual orientation, was examined with
items used in earlier research on lgb youth victimization (D’Augelli, 1992; Pilkington & D’Augelli, 1995) and lgb adult victimization (Herek, Gillis, Cogan, &
Glunt, 1997). Frequency of SOV in high school was queried for seven types of
abuse. Verbal victimization consisted of: (a) verbal insults, (b) threats of violence, and (c) threats by others to disclose the youth’s sexual orientation. Physical victimization consisted of incidents of: (a) objects being thrown at the youth,
(b) physical assault (being punched, kicked, or beaten), (c) threat of attack using
a knife, gun, or weapon, and (d) sexual assault. Youths responded with frequency of occurrence of each type of victimization with 1 = “Never,” 2 =
“Once,” 3 = “Twice,” and 4 = “Three or more times.” An average verbal SOV
score, an average physical SOV score, and an average total SOV score (the sum
of all items divided by the relevant number of items) were constructed. Log
transformations were used to normalize the distributions of vicarious and direct
victimization scores.
Two questions were asked concerning fears of direct SOV at school. Youths
were questioned about how much their openness about sexual orientation was related to fear of being verbally harassed at school and to fear of being physically
hurt at school (e. g., “To what extent is your openness about being lgb affected
by fear...of being physically hurt at school?”). There were four response options,
1 = “Not at all,” 2 = “Somewhat,” 3 = “Very,” and 4 = “Extremely.”
Mental health measures. Several indicators of mental health problems were
used. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis, 1993) asks about the occurrence of 53 symptoms in the past week with a 5-point scale ranging from 0 =
“Not at all” through 4 = “Extremely.” The BSI contains nine scales—Somatization, Obsession-Compulsion, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Depression, Anxiety,
Hostility, Phobic Anxiety, Paranoid Ideation, and Psychoticism. A summary
score, the Global Severity Index, is an overall indicator of mental health problems. The psychometric properties of the BSI have been well researched (Boulet
& Boss, 1991; Derogatis, 1993) and have been excellent in other lgb youth re-
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D’AUGELLI ET AL.
search (D’Augelli & Hershberger, 1993). Alphas on the scores for the scales in
this study ranged from .72 to .88, and alpha was .93 for Global Severity Index
scores. Mean scores for the scales were used, which were constructed by adding
items and dividing that sum by the number of items in each scale.
Youths also completed the Trauma Symptom Checklist–40 (TSC–40; Briere
& Runtz, 1989), a 40-item measure of posttraumatic stress symptoms. The respondent is asked about each symptom’s occurrence in the past 2 months on a 4point scale, with 0 = “Never” through 3 = “Often.” The TSC–40 contains six
scales—Dissociation, Anxiety, Depression, Sexual Abuse Trauma, Sleep Disturbances, and Sexual Problems. A total TSC score is computed by summing the
items. Cronbach’s alphas for scores on individual scales in this study ranged
from .65 to .78, and alpha was .92 for the total score. Mean scores for the scales
and for the total number of symptoms were used.
Another indicator of mental health problems was alcohol and drug use, which
was assessed by asking youths about usage in the last year. Youths were asked
how frequently they used tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, crack, uppers
(e.g., speed, crystal), narcotics (heroin and codeine), injection drugs, drugs that
are sniffed (poppers, airplane glue), downers (e.g., Valium, quaaludes), hallucinogens (e.g., MDA, Ecstasy), and other drugs. Youths noted use of each type
of drug using six categories: 1 = “Never,” 2 = “Once a month,” 3 = “Two to
three times a month,” 4 = “Once a week,” 5 = “Two or more times a week,” and
6 = “Everyday.” An index of substance use was computed by averaging the
items. Because the distribution of these scores was skewed, they were subjected
to a log transformation.
Information was obtained about youths’ current suicidal thoughts and past suicide attempts. They were asked, “Have you ever seriously thought of taking your
own life?” which was answered on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 = “Never”
through 4 = “Often.” They answered the same question for the last year. They
were asked how their feelings about suicide related to their sexual orientation,
using a 5-point scale, with 1 = “Very much related” through 5 = “Not at all related.” They were asked whether they had ever tried to kill themselves, and the
number of suicide attempts they made. A final set of questions asked about current suicidality. One question asked if the respondent had thoughts of suicide in
the last week, answered on a 4-point scale of 0 = “Not at all” through 4 =
“Thought about it so much that I couldn’t think of anything else.” The second
question on recent suicidal feelings asked if the respondent had made any plans
to hurt or kill her/himself in the last week. Three response options were provided: 0 = “No,” 1 = “Made plans, but did not actually try to hurt or kill myself,”
and 2 = “Actually tried to hurt or kill myself.”
Finally, youths’ current feelings about their sexual orientation were evaluated
using the Revised Homosexuality Attitude Inventory (RHAI; Shidlo, 1994), a
measure of internalized homophobia that contains 20 items answered on a 4point scale, from 1 = “Strongly disagree” through 4 = “Strongly agree.” One
subscale from the RHAI was used in these analyses. The Personal Homonegativ-
IMPACT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION VICTIMIZATION
155
ity score (15 items) assesses personal discomfort about being lgb (sample item:
“Whenever I think a lot about being lgb, I feel depressed”). An average score
was calculated for the items. Coefficient alpha was .81 for scores from the scale.
Higher scores indicate more internalized homophobia. Because the distribution
of Personal Homonegativity scores was not normal, a log transformation was applied.
RESULTS
Identifiability
Youths reported being first aware of their same-sex attractions at 10 to 11 years
of age, with males being aware significantly earlier (males: M = 10.0, SD = 3.5;
females: M = 11.1, SD = 4.0), t(345) = 2.71, p < .001. Self-labeling as lgb occurred about 5 years later, again with males significantly earlier (M = 14.9, SD =
2.6; females: M = 16.1, SD = 2.3), t(331) = 4.14, p < .001. Both male and female
youths disclosed their sexual orientation to someone else for the first time at
about age 17 (males: M = 16.7, SD = 2.0; females: M = 16.9, SD = 1.9), t(329) =
.84, ns. The number of years youths reported they were “out” (age minus age of
first disclosure) ranged from 0 (they had disclosed their sexual orientation during
the year they participated in the study) to 10; 70% of the sample had been “out”
for from 1 to 3 years. The average number of years “out” was about 2½ years (M
= 2.4, SD = 1.8), with no difference between males and females, t(329) = 1.38,
ns.
Few youths (13%) were completely open in high school, and nearly half
(46%) were completely “closeted.” There were no differences between males
and females in their openness during high school (males: M = 3.8, SD = 1.4; females: M = 3.7, SD = 1.5), t(345) = .35, ns. Many youths reported childhood
gender atypicality: 63% of the males said they were considered “sissies,” and
73% of the females said they were considered “tomboys.” On the gender atypicality scale, females were significantly more gender atypical in childhood than
males (males: M = 3.3, SD = .9; females: M = 3.71, SD = 1.3), t(344) = 3.50, p <
.001).
Vicarious Sexual Orientation Victimization
Many youths knew of instances of other lgb youths’ victimization in high
school. The following percentages of the sample knew of particular types of victimization that occurred to other lgb youths: 34% verbal insults; 21% threats of
violence; 12% objects thrown; 10% being punched, kicked, or beaten; 4% sexual
assault; and 27% shunning by others. No differences were found when the average scores of male and female youths were compared. Males did not know of
more attacks on males (M = 1.4, SD = .7) than females knew (M = 1.3, SD = .6),
t(348) = .93; and neither males nor females had different knowledge of attacks
on females (males: M = 1.3, SD = .6; females: M = 1.3, SD = .6), t(348) = .77. On
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D’AUGELLI ET AL.
the other hand, there were significant differences in the amount of victimization
experienced by other male and female lgb youths. Significantly more incidents
were observed in which gay and bisexual males were verbally abused (males: M
= 1.7, SD = 1.2; females: M = 1.4, SD = .9), t(349) = 5.20, p < .001; threatened
with violence (males: M = 1.5, SD = 1.0; females: M = 1.2, SD = .6), t(349) =
6.0, p < .001; assaulted (males: M = 1.2, SD = .7; females: M = 1.1, SD = .4),
t(349) = 3.73, p < .001; or shunned by others (males: M = 1.5, SD = 1.1; females:
M = 1.3, SD = .9) t(349) = 4.47, p < .01, compared to lesbian or bisexual female
youths. The greater victimization of male youths was pronounced when the
number of incidents was examined. In nearly all instances, two to three times as
many males compared to females were known to have been attacked frequently
(three or more times). For the different types of SOV, the percentages of victims
of three or more incidents were: verbal attacks: 18% males, 9% females; threats
of violence: 11% males, 4% females; property damage: 6% males, 3% females;
objects thrown: 5% males, 3% females; being chased or followed: 6% males, 3%
females; being punched, kicked, or beaten: 5% males, 1% females; being spat
upon: 3% males, 1% females; being hit or wounded with a weapon: 1% males,
1% females; sexual attack: 1% males, 1% females; and, being shunned by others: 14% males, 8% females.
Direct Sexual Orientation Victimization
Table 1 shows direct SOV in high school. More than half (59%) experienced
verbal abuse in high school, 24% were threatened with violence, 11% had objects thrown at them, 11% had been physically attacked, 2% were threatened
with weapons, 5% were sexually assaulted, and 20% had been threatened with
the disclosure of their sexual orientation. Over half (54%) experienced three or
more instances of verbal abuse in high school. Males reported significantly more
verbal attacks, threats of violence, and objects being thrown at them. Males were
also physically attacked more often: 15% of males and 7% of females had been
assaulted. Few youths were threatened with weapons (2%) or sexually assaulted
(5%); however, 20% were threatened with the disclosure of their sexual orientation. On all three SOV scores—verbal SOV, physical SOV, and total SOV—
males were victimized more than females (verbal SOV, t[314] = 4.38, p < .001;
physical SOV, t[317] = 2.70, p < .01; total SOV, t[318] = 4.47, p < .001).
Differences between youths in high school and those in college are shown in
Table 2. Current high school students were more open about their sexual orientation than college students were during their high school years. Students in high
school reported higher overall victimization and verbal victimization compared
to that experienced in high school by college students. Current high school students reported more threats of violence and more physical attacks than college
students reported in high school.
Identifiability variables were examined to determine how much they predicted
victimization using a multiple regression analysis with simultaneous entry of
157
*p < .05. **p < .001.
Threat of disclosure
Sexual assault
Punched, kicked, or
beaten
Threat with weapons
Object thrown
Threat of violence
Verbal abuse
33% (48) 9% (23) 7% (15) 51% (107)
n = 145
68% (106) 11% (18) 9% (14) 12% (74)
n = 156
85% (141) 7% (12) 2% (4)
6% (8)
n = 165
85% (141) 4% (6)
5% (8)
6% (10)
n = 165
96% (163) 1% (1)
2% (3)
1% (2)
n = 169
94% (150) 3% (5)
1% (1)
3% (3)
n = 159
76% (124) 9% (15) 10% (16) 5% (8)
n = 163
52% (53) 11% (11)
n = 101
86% (110) 5% (7)
n = 128
92% (124) 4% (6)
n = 134
93% (127) 2% (3)
n = 136
99% (139) 1% (1)
n = 140
96% (121) 4% (5)
n = 133
85% (106) 9% (11)
n = 125
(0)
6% (8)
(0)
(0)
(0)
(0)
4% (4)
1% (1)
8% (95)
1% (2)
2% (3)
6% (8)
5% (5) 32% (32)
41% (101) 9% (23) 6% (15) 54% (107)
n = 246
76% (216) 9% (25) 8% (22) 7% (21)
n = 284
89% (265) 6% (18) 2% (7)
3% (10)
n = 299
89% (268) 3% (9)
3% (10) 4% (13)
n = 301
98% (302) <1% (2) <1% (3) <1% (2)
n = 309
95% (278) 3% (10) <1% (1)
1% (3)
n = 292
80% (320) 9% (26) 6% (16) 6% (16)
n = 288
1.59
1.46
1.92
2.10*
2.15*
3.63**
3.47**
Males
Females
Total
t
_____________________________________ __________________________________ _____________________________________
Type of victimization
0
1x
2x
3+x
0
1x
2x
3+x
0
1x
2x
3+x
M vs. F
TABLE 1. Direct Sexual Orientation Victimization of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youths in High School
158
D’AUGELLI ET AL.
TABLE 2. Differences between High School Students and College Students on
Mental Health Indicators
Variable
High school students
(n = 61)
M
SD
Openness in high school
Verbal abuse
Threats of violence
Objects thrown
Punched, kicked, beaten
Threat with weapons
Sexual assault
Threat of disclosure
Verbal victimization
Physical victimization
Total victimization
2.87
2.88
1.78
1.39
1.24
1.06
1.02
1.61
.25
.05
.15
1.45
1.42
1.14
.84
.71
.41
.14
.98
.22
.12
.15
College students
(n = 115)
M
SD
1.78
2.39
1.28
1.07
1.20
1.01
1.07
1.34
.16
.03
.10
1.20
1.38
.71
.30
.67
.10
.38
.85
.19
.08
.12
t
5.20***
1.92
3.27***
3.46***
.34
1.13
.87
1.71
2.80**
1.66
2.58**
**p < .01. *** p < .001.
variables. Because it occurred much more often, verbal SOV was used as the dependent variable, with gender, years “out,” openness in high school, gender
atypicality, and the interaction between gender and gender atypicality (because
males and females differed on gender atypicality) used as predictors. These variables significantly predicted 14% of the variance in verbal high school SOV (adjusted R2 = .14; F[5, 279] = 10.00, p < .001). Contributing significantly to verbal
SOV were openness in high school (t = 2.90, p < .01) and gender atypicality (t =
2.23, p < .05). The more gender atypical youths appeared, the more often they
were attacked verbally. Inspection of the openness scores shows victimization
increased as youths became more open about themselves, leveling off once they
said they were “somewhat” open in high school. It would appear that openness
about being lgb in high school leads to verbal attacks in school; and once one is
open, verbal victimization remains stable.
As to fear of verbal harassment at school, 16% reported some fear, and over
one-quarter (27%) reported being very or extremely afraid of such harassment.
Significantly more males than females reported being very or extremely afraid of
verbal abuse (34% vs. 20%), ␹2(3) = 11.60, p < .01. About half (44%) reported
some fear of being physically attacked at school, with nearly three times as many
males as females (25% vs. 9%) saying they were very or extremely afraid of
physical attacks, ␹2(3) = 13.92, p < .01.
Mental Health and Victimization
Table 3 shows significant differences between male and female youths on the
mental health indicators. Gender differences were examined for the BSI and the
TSC by first using multivariate analyses of variance with individual scales as de-
IMPACT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION VICTIMIZATION
159
TABLE 3. Gender Differences on Mental Health Indicators
Indicator
Brief Symptom Inventory
Somatization
Obsession-compulsion
Interpersonal sensitivity
Depression
Anxiety
Hostility
Phobic anxiety
Paranoid ideation
Psychoticism
Global Severity Index
Trauma Symptom Checklist
Dissociation
Anxiety
Depression
Sexual abuse trauma
Sleep disturbances
Sexual problems
TSC total
Total substance use
Suicidality
Lifetime suicide ideation
Suicidal ideation in last year
Suicide ideation related to
sexual orientation
Suicide plans in last week
Personal Homonegativity
Males
Females
(n = 174–193)
(n = 143–154)
_____________ ______________
M
SD
M
SD
Total
(N = 317–350)
_____________
M
SD
.69
1.25
1.34
1.30
.96
.90
.64
1.11
1.00
.92
.83
.97
1.09
1.01
.92
.86
.79
.89
.83
.71
.73
1.37
1.33
1.25
1.09
.94
.62
1.09
.90
.94
.76
.91
.99
.97
.94
.82
.78
.86
.81
.66
.70
1.30
1.33
1.28
1.02
.92
.63
1.10
.96
.93
.80
.95
1.04
.99
.93
.84
.78
.88
.82
.68
.90
.70
.86
.69
1.09
.76
.83
1.45
.67
.53
.55
.57
.75
.54
.48
.46
1.02
.81
.98
.86
1.32
.72
.92
1.51
.69
.50
.59
.60
.79
.52
.48
.39
.96
.75
.91
.76
1.19
.75
.87
1.47
.68
.52
.57
.59
.77
.53
.48
.43
2.23
1.84
3.45
.93
.89
1.33
2.33
1.94
3.62
1.07
1.09
1.19
2.27
1.88
3.52
.99
.92
1.28
.31
.21
.70
.12
.37
.17
.75
.10
.33
.19
.72
.11
t
.42
1.09
.12
.48
1.23
.40
.23
.21
.21
.21
3.02
3.90*
4.28*
8.27**
6.61**
.43
1.89
1.37
.96
1.10
1.11
.70
4.08***
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
pendent variables and gender as the predictor. For the BSI scales, the MANOVA
result was not significant, F(9, 307) = 1.51, ns, so further analyses of individual
BSI scales by gender were not conducted. On the other hand, a significant result
for gender was found on the MANOVA for the TSC scales, F(6, 339) = 4.63, p <
.001. Follow-up univariate tests showed a consistent pattern. On TSC scales
showing a significant gender difference, females’ scores were always higher. Females demonstrated significantly more trauma symptoms on the Anxiety, Depression, Sexual Abuse Trauma, and Sleep Disturbances subscales.
There were no gender differences in specific drugs used. Over one-half (54%)
of the sample smoked cigarettes, with 31% smoking daily. Three-quarters (76%)
had used alcohol; 28% drank once a month, 25% drank two or three times a
month, and 23% drank weekly or more often. Thirty-nine percent had used marijuana; 70% used it once a month; 8% used it two to three times a month; and,
160
D’AUGELLI ET AL.
11% used marijuana weekly or more often. A few youths reported use of other
drugs. Thirteen youths (4%) used cocaine, 4 (1%) used crack, 18 (5%) used uppers, 14 (4%) sniffed drugs, 27 (8%) used downers, and 48 (14%) used hallucinogens.
As to lifetime suicidal thinking, 42% of males and 25% of females said they
had sometimes or often thought of suicide. About half (48%) said their suicidal
thinking was related to their sexual orientation; 22% of the total said their sexual
orientation was very related. Over one-third (n = 116) acknowledged a past suicide attempt. When asked about suicidal thinking in the last week, 12% said they
thought of it once, 7% said two to three times, and 2% said daily. One youth said
that in the last week he thought of suicide so often that he could think of nothing
else. In all, 22% of the sample evidenced some suicidal thinking in the last week,
and 78% did not. There were no gender differences on any of these variables.
Scores on the Personal Homonegativity scale of the RHAI were below the
midpoint of the scale, suggesting that participants had low overall negative
views of their own sexual orientation. For instance, 90% agreed with the statement, “I am glad to be lgb,” while 10% disagreed. Male youths’ scores were significantly higher than females on this scale. On the item mentioned, 86% of the
males said they were “glad to be lgb,” while 94% of the females reported such
feelings.
Comparisons were also made between current high school students and college students on the mental health indicators. A MANOVA comparing the two
groups on BSI scores was significant, F(9, 155) = 39.11, p < .001, and a
MANOVA of TSC scores was also significant, F(6, 167) = 6.21, p < .001. Results of comparisons for all scales are shown in Table 4. All of the findings are in
the same direction, with high school students showing more evidence of mental
health problems than college students.
Table 5 presents correlations between sexual orientation milestones, identifiability, mental health indicators, and victimization. The earlier youths were aware
of their same-sex feelings, self-identified as lgb, and disclosed their sexual orientation to others for the first time, the more they were victimized in high school.
The overall number of years they have been “out” was also related signficantly
to increased victimization. In addition, the more open youths were about their
sexual orientation in high school, the more they were victimized. Total victimization was related positively to mental health symptoms as measured by the
BSI, and to traumatic stress symptoms on the TSC. Multiple regression analyses
with simultaneous entry of variables were conducted to explore which factors
most strongly predicted mental health symptoms. Because the Global Severity
Index of the BSI and the total TSC score were highly correlated, r(311) = .83, p
< .001, analyses were conducted for trauma symptoms only. Gender, years out,
openness in high school, gender atypicality, personal homonegativity, and verbal
high school sexual orientation victimization served as predictor variables. These
results are shown in Table 6. The predictors accounted for 18% of the variance
in traumatic stress scores (adjusted R2 = .20; F[5, 273] = 12.48, p < .001). More
IMPACT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION VICTIMIZATION
161
TABLE 4. Differences between High School Students and College Students on
Mental Health Indicators
Variable
Brief Symptom Inventory
Somatization
Obsession-compulsion
Interpersonal sensitivity
Depression
Anxiety
Hostility
Phobic anxiety
Paranoid ideation
Psychoticism
Global Severity Index
Trauma Symptom Checklist
Dissociation
Anxiety
Depression
Sexual abuse trauma
Sleep disturbances
Sexual problems
TSC total
Total substance use
Suicidality
Lifetime suicide ideation
Suicidal ideation in last year
Suicide ideation related to
sexual orientation
Suicide plans in last week
Personal Homonegativity
High school students
(n = 61)
M
SD
College students
(n = 115)
M
SD
t
1.02
1.53
1.54
1.52
1.16
1.16
.90
1.31
1.09
1.14
.95
1.02
1.13
1.07
.99
.95
.89
.91
.83
.77
.56
1.22
1.24
1.16
.93
.75
.48
.96
.84
.82
.69
.97
1.02
.93
.84
.76
.62
.79
.80
.62
3.57***
1.96*
1.72
2.24*
1.55
3.02**
3.51***
2.58**
1.89
2.92**
1.20
.91
1.07
.83
1.29
.73
1.02
1.47
.63
.56
.61
.62
.78
.51
.51
.44
.80
.65
.85
.66
1.14
.70
.79
1.44
.70
.46
.58
.58
.77
.55
.48
.38
3.72***
3.29***
2.36*
1.79
1.19
.36
2.95**
.44
2.36
2.08
3.49
1.10
1.05
1.23
2.07
1.61
3.70
.94
.88
1.13
1.84*
3.19**
1.00
.47
.20
.93
.13
.26
.17
.62
.11
1.77
2.05*
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
current traumatic stress symptoms were associated with gender (as noted earlier,
females had higher traumatic stress scores), higher Personal Homonegativity
scores, and with having experienced more verbal abuse in high school.
DISCUSSION
These results demonstrate that there are considerable risks for victimization for
lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths in high school settings. More than half had
been verbally abused in high school, nearly one-quarter were threatened with violence, and over 10% had been physically attacked. Twenty percent had been
threatened with the disclosure of their sexual orientation, a serious threat given
the victimization that can follow disclosure. The earlier youths came to terms
with their sexual orientation by self-identification and by disclosure to others,
162
D’AUGELLI ET AL.
TABLE 5. Correlations of Sexual Orientation Characteristics, Mental Health
Indicators, and Sexual Orientation Victimization in High School
Variable
Verbal
victimization
Physical
victimization
Total
victimization
–.14**
–.28***
–.27***
–.07
–.18***
–.19***
–.13*
–.27***
–.25***
.19***
–.23***
.18***
.14**
–.08
.12*
.19***
–.19***
.16**
Age of first awareness
Age of self-identification
Age of first disclosure
Identifiability
Years out
Openness in high school
Gender atypicality
Mental health indicator
General Severity Index
Trauma Symptom Checklist total
Total substance use
Lifetime suicidal ideation
Suicide ideation in last year
Suicide ideation related to sexual orientation
Personal Homonegativity
.29***
.23***
.07
.15**
.17**
.17**
.07
.18***
.18***
.03
.06
.13*
.19**
.16**
.28***
.24**
.06
.13*
.17**
.18**
.12**
n = 259–320.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
the more they were victimized in high school. Openness about one’s sexual orientation in high school and being gender atypical were significantly correlated
with direct victimization due to sexual orientation. Those youths who identified
as lgb during their high school years and who were gender atypical were targets
for sexual orientation victimization. Male youths consistently tended to be victimized more frequently, making gender another factor related to youths’ victimization by others.
In addition to experiencing direct personal victimization, many of these
youths have observed the victimization of others like themselves. Over one-third
knew of other lgb youths who had been verbally harassed; 10% knew of assaults
on other lgb youths; and, more than one-quarter knew of other lgb youths being
shunned by others. This knowledge can have a powerful effect, increasing fears
TABLE 6. Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms
Variable
Gender
Years out
Openness in high school
Gender atypicality
Personal Homonegativity
Verbal victimization in high school
***p < .001.
␤
SE
.22
–.07
–.06
.10
.34
.24
.05
.02
.02
.02
.24
.14
t
3.86***
–.82
–1.10
1.83
6.14***
4.05***
IMPACT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION VICTIMIZATION
163
and inhibiting youths from expressing themselves. Thus, reflecting perhaps not
only their own direct experience, but also their knowledge of others’ experiences, many youths feared being attacked at school—30% feared verbal abuse at
school, and 21% feared physical attack. These fears of victimization at school
cannot help but have a negative impact upon youths’ experience at school. It is
also likely that these fears can interfere with learning and academic achievement, although this was not explored in this research. Memories of past victimization and fear of future victimization are plausibly at the heart of the considerably higher school avoidance seen among lgb youths compared to heterosexual
youths. Garofalo et al. (1998) found that 25% of the lgb youths in their sample
stated they had missed school in the last month, compared to 5% of heterosexual
youths. DuRant et al. (1998) also found male same-sex sexual behavior to be associated with high school absence due to fear. Lgb youths who do escape victimization in this way may do poorly academically, thus jeopardizing their educational and vocational achievement.
These results show associations between past victimization based on sexual
orientation in high school and current mental health problems. High school victimization was correlated with mental health symptoms in general, and with
posttraumatic stress symptoms in particular. Verbal attacks that had occurred in
high school were related to current posttraumatic stress symptoms; also, more
traumatic stress was related to higher Personal Homonegativity. Over half of the
sample had experienced three or more instances of verbal harassment based on
their sexual orientation in high school. Some respondents, for example, wrote
comments such as, “Too many to count,” and “Thousands,” when asked to estimate how many verbal harassment incidents had occurred in high school.
Nonetheless, it should be noted that these relationships were modest; verbal victimization, for example, accounted for about 9% of the variance in mental health
symptoms.
The indicators used in this study do not capture adequately the prevalence of
victimization incidents in youths’ lives, nor do they provide any time frame
within which the incidents occurred. It is also the case that no differentiation can
be made in these analyses between different types of verbal harassment. It is
likely that repetitive comments that occur over a period of several years (as
might happen for a youth who disclosed to others in the beginning of high
school) that are accompanied with the threat of physical violence will have the
most impact on mental health, whereas an occasional casual remark would have
little long-standing impact. Also, these data do not address the number of perpetrators in victimization incidents. It would seem likely that incidents involving
multiple victimizers, even if the abuse is verbal, would be associated with more
stress than incidents with single attackers. Thus, there are many questions that
arise from the association of sexual orientation victimization and mental health
that will require a more detailed investigation of victimization histories. It will
also be helpful to study the mental health consequences of victimization soon
after the events have occurred.
164
D’AUGELLI ET AL.
This study suggests that sexual orientation victimization can have an impact
on youths’ adjustment. Research on adult victims of sexual orientation-based
hate crimes (Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 1999) shows that attacks directed at people
because of their sexual orientation have a more powerful negative impact than
crimes in general. If this is the case for adults, it seems reasonable to hypothesize
that sexual orientation victimization that occurs in adolescence would have a
more detrimental effect on mental health compared to similar experiences occurring in adulthood. There are several reasons to presume a greater effect on
youths. First, youths’ sexual orientation is still developing in adolescence, and
this developmental process itself often causes considerable conflict that can be
exacerbated by victimization (Garnets, Herek, & Levy, 1990). Second, lgb
youths have less support than lgb adults, who have sources of assistance if they
are victimized; adults, for instance, are more likely to report incidents to authorities than adolescents. Third, lgb youths may have a greater fear of the exposure
of their sexual orientation to others as a result of victimization than would adults
who have likely disclosed their orientation to more people because of their age.
Finally, there may be distinctive qualities to victimization of youths compared to
adults. Youths, for instance, cannot completely escape the school context unless
they drop out, and in general youths have less control over their environments
than do adults. Clearly, some lgb youths endeavor to control their risk levels by
school avoidance.
Only longitudinal research can establish causal mechanisms between victimization of lgb youths and their mental health. These cross-sectional data are open
to diverse interpretations as to causality, but it is theoretically more plausible
that victimization of lgb people jeopardizes their mental health than that their
mental health induces victimization (Herek et al., 1999). There are other limitations to this study. Youths were sampled from social and recreational groups,
and thus may be a nonrepresentative sample. It is possible that youths who seek
out these groups are more troubled and have less support than lgb youths in general; the association between victimization and mental health, then, may be inflated. However, the population-based studies of lgb youths (DuRant et al.,
1998; Garofalo et al., 1998; Garofalo, Wolf, Wissow, Woods, & Goodman,
1999; Remafedi, French, Story, Resnick, & Blum, 1998) have generated findings that have been consistent with the results of studies using samples such as
the one examined in this report. On the other hand, it is also possible that youths
who attend these groups are among the more resilient and more self-assured lgb
youths. This might suggest that the relationships found here underestimate the
impact of victimization on mental health.
A final limitation of the study is that past victimization experiences were related to current mental health status. This lapse between experiences of victimization and their presumptive mental health consequences allows for the occurrence of other life events and stressors that might have an impact on youths’
mental health. For most study participants, however, only a few years transpired
between their high school years and their involvement in the study. In addition,
IMPACT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION VICTIMIZATION
165
there is the issue of retrospective recall of earlier victimization experiences. Recent research has found that lgb youths’ victimization at school can be recalled
reliably in adulthood (Rivers, 2001), suggesting that reports provided while the
victims are still young adults (i.e., 21 and under) would also be reliable.
Additional research on the victimization of lgb youths is needed. Current research on lgb youths shares certain methodological limitations that make generalizations problematic (Anhalt & Morris, 1999; Muehrer, 1995; Savin-Williams,
1994). On the other hand, the combination of intensive studies of lgb youths
using convenience samples and large-scale representative studies of adolescents
in which lgb youths are identified provides a powerful strategy. Consistencies
and inconsistencies in findings derived from the two approaches can resolve
some important issues and will generate additional research questions. Much remains to be learned about the developmental experiences of youths who identify
as lgb during their adolescent years. There is little doubt, however, that there are
lgb youths in schools, and that schools are settings in which considerable victimization occurs. These attacks can be verbal or physical, blatant or subtle, brief or
long-lasting. This victimization can take its toll on youths’ mental health, and
preventive interventions to forestall these stresses must be implemented. School
psychologists can encourage the development of school policies that clearly
identify victimization, harassment, or discrimination based on sexual orientation
as unacceptable forms of behavior. In addition, training of school personnel in
understanding sexual orientation development during adolescence, and in responding to verbal and physical abuse of lgb students is most important. Finally,
it is crucial that school psychologists, in their counseling capacities, create nonjudgmental, welcoming contexts for lgb youths and youths who are questioning
their sexual identities. Such settings can also provide opportunities for youths
who have been victimized to discuss these incidents and to address the mental
health consequences of the experiences.
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Action Editor: Terry B. Gutkin
Acceptance Date: December 4, 2001