Sexual orientation disparities in chronic disease risk, victimization, health care access, mental health, and smoking merit increased attention. More research on heterogeneity in health and health determinants among sexual minorities is needed.

BACKGROUND-Childhood adversity is associated with adult mental disorders, but the mechanisms underlying this association remain inadequately understood. Stress sensitization, whereby childhood adversity increases vulnerability to mental disorders following adult stressful life events, has been proposed as a potential mechanism. We provide a test of the stress sensitization hypothesis in a national sample.

Despite higher rates of unemployment and poverty among transgender adults (n = 131; 0.5% weighted) than among nontransgender adults (n = 28,045) in our population-based Massachusetts household sample, few health differences were observed between transgender and nontransgender adults. Transgender adults who are stably housed and participated in a telephone health survey may represent the healthiest segment of the transgender population. Our findings demonstrate a need for diverse sampling approaches to monitor transgender health, including adding transgender measures to population-based surveys, and further highlight economic inequities that warrant intervention.

Background-Over half a million U.S. women and more than 100,000 men are treated for injuries from intimate partner violence (IPV) annually, making IPV perpetration a major public health problem. However, little is known about causes of perpetration across the life course.