State LGBTQ policies and binge drinking among sexual minority youth in the US: a multilevel analysis

Purpose Though higher rates of binge drinking have been reported among sexual minority (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) youths compared to their heterosexual peers in the United States, questions remain about which specific structural factors drive these inequities. We test whether state LGBTQ (lesbian,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2022, Vol.57 (1), p.183-194
Main Authors: Chien, Yung-Shin, Schwartz, Gabriel, Huang, Linglin, Kawachi, Ichiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Alcohol and youth
Alcohol use
Binge Drinking - epidemiology
Comparative analysis
Drinking of alcoholic beverages
Epidemiology
Female
Gay teenagers
Gay youth
Gays & lesbians
Girls
Humans
Lesbians
LGBTQ people
Liberalism
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Minority & ethnic groups
Multilevel Analysis
Original Paper
Policies
Policy
Psychiatry
Questions
Regression models
Sexual and Gender Minorities
Sexual Behavior
Statistical analysis
Surveys
United States - epidemiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose Though higher rates of binge drinking have been reported among sexual minority (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) youths compared to their heterosexual peers in the United States, questions remain about which specific structural factors drive these inequities. We test whether state LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning) policy climate is associated with youth binge drinking, as well as whether that association is unique to sexual minority youth. Methods We use LGBTQ policy scores compiled by the Movement Advancement Project in 2017 and analyze 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (126,432 youths living in 24 states). We fit multi-level logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios for binge drinking with state-level LGBTQ policy scores. Result More progressive state-level overall LGBTQ policies were associated with lower odds of binge drinking among sexual minority youths (interaction term OR = 0.990, CI 0.984–0.996, p  = 0.0009), but not among heterosexuals (OR = 1.001, CI 0.992, 1.009, p  = 0.881). For sexual minorities, living in the most LGBTQ-affirming state was associated with a probability of binge drinking 27% lower than that of those living in the least LGBTQ-affirming state. In sensitivity analyses, policies specific to LGBTQ youth (opposed to general LGBTQ people) were even more strongly related to sexual minorities’ binge drinking (interaction term: state-level youth policy score × individual-level sexual identity—of OR = 0.949, CI 0.927–0.971, p  = 0.00001). In sex-stratified models, associations with overall LGBTQ policy scores were significant only for girls (OR = 0.986, CI 0.979–0.993, p  
ISSN:0933-7954
1433-9285
DOI:10.1007/s00127-021-02119-4