Comparison of HIV Risks among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Heterosexual Homeless Youth

Abstract

Youth who are homeless and gay, lesbian or bisexual (GLB) are one of the most disenfranchised and marginalized groups in our society. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare HIV in GLB homeless youth with their heterosexual counterparts. Participants for this study included 268 youth involved in treatment outcome studies with substance abusing homeless youth. Results suggest that GLB youth have greater HIV risks and that these risks are greater among bisexual females. In examining the predictors of sexual health risks, survival sex emerged as the most significant. Survival sex was high among females regardless of their sexual orientation and also among gay males. Implications of these findings suggest that a greater emphasis needs to be paid to preventive interventions among this population. KeywordsYouth; Gay; HIV; Homeless One particularly disturbing consequence of being homeless is engaging in behaviors that put oneself at risk for HIV infection. Overall, the homeless population has a disproportionately higher risk of HIV transmission (Ebner and Laviage, 2003) and substance use (Kipke et al., 1997). Substance abuse has been associated as a risk factor for HIV, both in terms of drug and sexual related risk (Rotheram-Borus et al., 2003). In a recent study designed to explore the differences in sexual health risks and protective factors Rew et al. (2005) found that gay and lesbian homeless youth reported being tested and treated for HIV more than the bisexual or heterosexual youth. This was partially supported by a later study (Solorio et al., 2006) that found that gay and bisexual males were more likely to report being tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) when compared to heterosexual males and lesbian and bisexual females. While this could imply that gay and lesbian homeless youth are at a greater risk for STIs, there is currently little empirical evidence to show whether differences in HIV risks among heterosexual and gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) youth exist. Such evidence would be helpful in better understanding the needs of these youth and also to better inform intervention strategies. Thus, the purpose of this study was to bridge this gap by comparing the HIV risks among heterosexual and GLB youth in a population of homeless youth.Historically, studies comparing GLB and heterosexual non-homeless youth have been primarily conducted with school-based and community-based samples (Bontempo and D'Augelli, 2002;Faulkner and Cranston, 1998;Lock and Steiner, 1999). Findings suggest that GLB youth have greater rates of depression, more suicide attempts (Fergusson et al., 1999), more risk taking behavior (Garofalo et al., 1998) (Cochran et al., 2002;Noell and Ochs, 2001;Whitbeck et al., 2004). Gender differences have also been noted by some researchers. For instance, Whitbeck and colleagues (2004) in a longitudinal study of homeless and runaway adolescents found that gay males were more likely to have symptoms of internalization when compared to heterosexual males. Lesbian adole...

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LGBTQ+ Young Adults on the Street and on Campus: Identity as a Product of Social Context

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