Rockway Institute In the News

Victimized Gay Youth Linked to Post-Traumatic Stress By JOELLE L. QUARTINI  The New York Blade Aug. 10, 2007

No matter how much progress the community makes or how many lawmakers back gay rights, growing up as an LGBT youth remains a fraught and dangerous experience for many. Teens continue to endure the verbal taunting, physical abuse and sexual assault and discrimination.

A recent study of 528 New York City youths links the victimization of gay youth to post-traumatic stress disorder and casts an expectant eye on schools, where the majority of bashing takes place.

For nearly 1 in 10 of the study’s participants, experiences while growing up are linked to the same condition that affects victims of violent crime, accidents and natural disasters.

“These results join the growing body of data suggesting that violence directed at young people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual has a significant effect on their mental health,” said Robert-Jay Green, Ph.D, executive director of the Rockway Institute, the national research and public policy center that counters anti-gay prejudice with scientific and professional expertise.

“Many adults overlook such abuse, considering it an expected, normal part of childhood teasing,” Green said. “For the targets of this kind of aggression, however, it can be associated with serious psychological harm.”

The earlier the victimization occurs, the more upsetting the child’s perception of the experiences. And the accumulation of victimizing events can create possible long-term mental trauma.

The study examined 528 youth aged 15–19 in the New York Metropolitan area, who were victimized based on their sexual orientation or perception of peers as being “sissies” or “tomboys.”

The study was conducted by Anthony R. D’Augelli and Michael Starks of Penn State University and Arnold Grossman of New York University. Lead researcher D’Augelli, Ph.D., said the original hypothesis was that there would be a relationship between victimization and mental health, but the abundance of incidents and intense reaction wasn’t anticipated.

D’Augelli has organized copious research on youth and consistently found high levels of victimization, which he says inspired him to keep the issue current and information up-to-date.

According to the study’s findings, 9 percent of the young people who were studied met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. Individuals diagnosed with the disorder met all criteria, which is seen infrequently in adolescents, according to D’Augelli.

Individuals diagnosed with PTSD must have been exposed to trauma that leaves a lasting impression and have repetitive psychological reaction to the event.

Physical victimization proved the most destructive in terms of mental distress, with 89 percent of victims reporting being very or extremely upset by the incident. 

The study found that 14 percent reported physical attacks, some as young as age 9. In most cases, males abused males and females were abused almost equally by males and females. More than half of the violence occurred in school and a quarter took place in a public setting.

Verbal victimization proved the most common among youths. Nearly 80 percent reported verbal taunts, some as early as age 6. “Verbal victimization is so constant that they normalize it and accommodate to it,” D’Augelli said.

Children get so used to being called “dyke” or “faggot” that they don’t hear it anymore, but it scars their mental health, said to D’Augelli, who added  that youth often have no access to psychological services.
Many of the victims, he said, avoid school, where more than 70 percent of the verbal victimization occurs.

“These data again point to an urgent need for training school administrators, teachers and counselors to stop the bullying of lesbian and gay youths. Every child has a basic right to a safe learning environment free from verbal harassment and physical violence,” Green said. “Nobody, regardless of his or her political views on gay issues, wants to see these children hurt.”

Despite the study’s findings, D’Augelli said that LGBT issues seem to be improving, with more acceptance in society, homes and schools. D’Augelli said these improvements are reflected in children’s perception of themselves.

He noted that many youths in the study expressed the hope to be married, enjoy long-term relationships and have children with their same-sex partners.
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© 2007 The New York Blade | A Window Media Publication