Street-involved youth have high rates of mental health problems, substance use, and victimization. But those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, unsure or “other” may be at higher risk for these problems.
Recently, researchers in Toronto explored how sexual minority status and gender impact the negative experiences of street-involved youth. They had a number of questions, including:
- Are street-involved youth with a sexual minority status experiencing more sexual assault?
- Are they suffering from more mental health issues?
- Does considering gender change the answers to these questions?
Their findings can provide a better understanding of the complex ways in which gender and sexual identity shape the lives of street-involved youth.
Evidence Exchange Network (EENet) has developed a Research Snapshotof the article, “Exploring gender and sexual minority status among street-involved youth,” by Tyler J. Frederick and others. It appeared inVulnerable Children and Youth Studies, vol. 6, no. 2 (2011): 166-83.
The Snapshot is available at www.ehealthontario.ca.
Research Snapshots are brief, clear language summaries of research articles, presented in a user-friendly format. To read EENet’s clear language summary of this article and others, visit the EENet website at www.ehealthontario.ca.