Citation

Dowshen N, Ford CA. Pediatrics 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

10.1542/peds.2019-2133

PMID

31427461

Abstract

Sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) face multiple challenges to their mental and physical well-being, including higher rates of suicide, substance use, and victimization when compared with heterosexual and cisgender youth.1 This is not due to their being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer and/or questioning (LGBTQ), but rather is a result of shame and stigma imposed by others because of their identity. In this issue of Pediatrics, Coulter et al2 review interventions that attempt to address these health inequities for SGMY in their article titled “Mental Health, Drug, and Violence Interventions for Sexual/Gender Minorities: A Systematic Review.” Among their most important findings are that only 9 interventions met criteria for inclusion.

Clearly, these findings signal an urgent need for more research. We agree with the authors’ call for inclusion of SGMY in large, population-based studies and more studies specific to SGMY with appropriate comparison groups whenever possible. This should be combined with improvements in strategies to systematically measure sexual orientation and gender identity that are both inclusive and specific, recognize that youth identification may shift developmentally, measure the spectrum of sexual orientations and gender …

Address correspondence to Nadia Dowshen, MD, MSHP, Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine, Buerger Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3500 Civic Center Blvd, 12th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail: dowshenn@email.chop.edu

Language: en