Introduction
Sexual minority youth are disproportionately exposed to school violence compared with
their heterosexual peers. It is unknown whether the associations between school absence
and exposure to school violence vary by sexual identity.
Methods
In 2021, data were combined from the 2015, 2017, and 2019 national Youth Risk Behavior
Surveys to produce nationally representative samples of U.S. high-school students
who identified as gay/lesbian (n=1,061), identified as bisexual (n=3,210), were not sure of their sexual identity (n=1,696), or identified as heterosexual (n=35,819). Associations were examined between 3 school violence exposures (being threatened/injured
with a weapon at school, being bullied at school, and being in a physical fight at
school) and school absence due to safety concerns. In each sample, multivariable logistic
regression models were used to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios adjusted for sex,
race/ethnicity, grade, current substance use, being offered/sold drugs at school,
feeling sad/hopeless, and suicidal thoughts. Adjusted prevalence ratios were considered
statistically significant if 95% CIs did not include 1.0.
Results
Exposure to school violence and school absence due to safety concerns were more prevalent
among sexual minority students than among heterosexual students. Associations between
exposure to school violence and school absence due to safety concerns were similar
across sexual identity groups. For example, school absence was associated with being
threatened/injured with a weapon at school among gay/lesbian (adjusted prevalence
ratio=3.00), bisexual (adjusted prevalence ratio=3.66), those not sure (adjusted prevalence
ratio=4.56), and heterosexual (adjusted prevalence ratio=3.75) students.
Conclusions
Associations between school absenteeism and school violence exist in each sexual identity
group. Therefore, programs providing safe and supportive school environments may result
in reduced absenteeism among all students.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: June 14, 2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
