A systematic review and meta‐analysis investigating the impact of childhood adversities on the mental health of LGBT+ youth

Abstract

Background The presence of trauma as a backdrop to the lives of LGBT+ youth has been recognised in recent literature. LGBT+ youth report a higher frequency, severity and pervasiveness of adverse childhood experiences when compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. This exposure has been directly related to an increased risk of mental health problems. Method A systematic literature search of Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science was conducted from the date of their inception until the 1st September 2021. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021240472). Results A total of 27 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria and were used in the systematic review, representing 199,285 participants, 26,505 of whom identified as LGBT+ (mean age 16.54). Female participants (ranging from 11% to 74%) and white participants (7.7%–96%) made up the largest percentage of most samples. Depressive symptoms were the most commonly described psychiatric outcome (n = 17, 63%), followed by anxiety symptoms (n = 6, 31.5%). 18 studies provided meta‐analysable data, compromising 21,781 LGBT+ young people. LGBT+ youth reported a higher prevalence of adverse experiences in comparison to their heterosexual or cisgender counterparts (p < .001), with sexual abuse representing the most commonly reported experience (29.7%), followed by verbal abuse (28.7%), physical abuse (26.5%) and cyberbullying (19.1%). LGBT+ youth were also at a heightened risk of mental health disorders (p < .001), with 36.9% and 31.5% of sample meeting the clinical criteria for depression and anxiety, respectively. Conclusions Continued advocacy is needed from communities and Allies to support and empower LGBT+ youth in the face of adversity. Longitudinal and longer‐term studies are required to further understand the relationship between adverse experiences in LGBT+ youth and the impact on mental health.

Correlates of wanting to seek help for mental health and substance use concerns by sexual and gender minority young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: A machine learning analysis

“…In addition, policy initiatives like anti-discrimination measures and LGBTQI2S+ inclusion in the socio-economic development [ 62 ] will help to reduce discrimination. Evidence suggests that high exposure to ACEs predicts poor mental health outcomes among SGM youth and adults [ 63 , 64 ]. Moreover, high ACEs score were found to be associated with ever-smoking and ever-vaping among the 2SLGBTQI+ young adults [ 61 ].…”

A participatory action research study to explore adolescents’ experiences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through creative workshops: a protocol

“…the LGBTQIA+ community, ethnic minorities, refugees and asylum seekers, traveller community, and neurodivergent adolescents. As a research team we are purposively seeking these groups as they are currently not represented within ACE research 23 24 .To aide recruitment and comply with safeguarding requirements, recruitment of participants will be facilitated through appointed responsible contacts in youth organisations, charities, schools and NHS sites. No general public recruitment will take place.…”

“…This study is part of the wider ATTUNE project (ATTUNE -Department of Psychiatry (ox.ac.uk) and the first of six workstreams. Diverse groups of young people across the adolescent age range (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) will be invited to take part in a series of arts-based workshops across different modalities, led by creative practitioners. During the workshops, participants will engage in creative practice individually or in groups with other young people and guided conversations, to share their lived experiences of ACEs, mental health and current perspectives to whatever degree felt comfortable to them.…”

Transparent and complete reporting of confounding in observational research

“…JCPP Advances also requires authors to adhere to the PRISMA guideline in the reporting of systematic reviews. The June issue of JCPP Advances have included three high quality systematic reviews covering important research questions related to (i) structural and functional brain changes associated with peer‐victimisation, bullying, and cyberbullying (Ke et al., 2022 ), (ii) the associations between adverse experiences and mental health outcomes in individuals with minority identities related to sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity (Jonas et al., 2022 ), and (iii) the use of exposure in the management of anxiety‐related disorders among young people (Teunisse et al., 2022 ). As expected from publications in JCPP Advances, the above mentioned systematic reviews all followed PRISMA guidelines.…”