Sexual Identity and Behavior Among U.S. High School Students, 2005–2015

Abstract

Sexual orientation is a multidimensional construct which is increasingly recognized as an important demographic characteristic in population health research. For this study, weighted Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data were pooled across 47 jurisdictions biennially from 2005 to 2015, resulting in a national sample of 98 jurisdiction-years (344,815 students). Respondents were a median of 15.5 years, 49.9% male, and 48.8% White. Sexual identity and behavior trends from 2005 to 2015 were assessed with logistic regression analysis. Overall, 13.9% of females and 7.0% of males identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), or not sure, while 9.1% of females and 4.2% of males indicated both same-and-different-sex behavior or same-sex behavior. In total, 17.0% of female and 8.5% of male youth reported non-heterosexual (LGB or not sure) sexual identity, same-sex sexual behavior, or both. LGB youth were approximately twice as likely as other youth to report lifetime sexual behavior. White and Asian youth were less likely to report nonheterosexual identity and/or have engaged in same-sex sexual behaviors than youth of other races/ ethnicities. Prevalence of non-heterosexual identities increased over time for both sexes, but only female youth reported significantly more same-sex behavior over time. This is the first study to simultaneously assess adolescent sexual identity and behavior over time within a national dataset. These findings are critical for understanding the sexual health needs of adolescents, and for informing sexual health policy and practice.

Sexual Orientation and Suicide Attempt Disparities Among US Adolescents: 2009–2017

“…Increases in reported sexual minority orientation and same-sex sexual contacts could reflect either increased comfort with reporting or underlying population changes in sexual orientation. The observed increases in the proportion of the population reporting being sexual minorities are consistent with evidence from US adolescents 19 and from British adults. 18 Although suicide attempts declined over time among students identifying as sexual minorities, suicide attempts remained elevated among sexual minorities compared with heterosexual students.…”

“…30,31 A strength of the study is that we used data representative of adolescents in each state. Whereas authors of a previous study on sexual orientation over time also used YRBSS data, 19 our approach of only including states that collected sexual orientation data continuously throughout the study period allowed us to evaluate changes in sexual orientation in the same population over time. At the same time, the number of included states was small and represented only the northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, meaning the results may only be generalizable to these regions.…”

“…18 Although few surveys representative of the US population have included questions on sexual orientation until recent years, some YRBSS states have included sexual orientation questions for several years. A previous analysis of changes in sexual orientation over time based on YRBSS data found increases in the proportion of adolescents reporting sexual minority identities and same-sex sexual contact between 2005 and 2015, 19 but the study was based on potentially overlapping data from states and cities in different combinations across years (7 sites in 2005, increasing to 42 sites by 2015), making it difficult to determine if changes over time were due to the sites included in each year or changes in sexual orientation. 20 The study also did not include evaluation of changes in mental health disparities over time.…”

Pornography Use in Adolescents and Its Clinical Implications

“…Regarding dispositional variables, sexual orientation is a relevant multidimensional construct that has been widely evaluated in the adult population [ 45 , 46 ]. However, the prevalence of sexual minority identity has rarely been examined in adolescents [ 47 ]. In the present study, 6% of the sample identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) and 3.6% did not define their sexual orientation.…”

Changes in Sexual Identity Labels in a Contemporary Cohort of Emerging Adult Women: Patterns, Prevalence and a Typology

“…Over the past two decades, non-heterosexuality has not increased to the same extent amongst men as it has amongst women (England, Mishel, & Caudillo, 2016;Phillips et al, 2019). The sexual identity label trajectories of men are also likely to differ from those of women sample of women to the experiences of men.…”