Gay Youth Report Higher Rates Of Drug And Alcohol Use

The odds of substance use for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth are on average 190 percent higher than for heterosexual youth, according to a study by University of Pittsburgh researchers published in the current issue of Addiction. What's more, for some sub-populations of LGB youth, the odds were substantially higher, including 340 percent for bisexual youth and 400 percent for lesbians, researchers found.

This will be interesting to watch. The study was a meta-analysis of research from 1994 to 2006. While homophobia is alive and well, in some communities, the landscape for LGB youth has changed dramatically for the better over that period. No? Will disparities decrease as homophobia decreases?