Sexual Orientation and Bullying Involvement in Adolescence: The Role of Gender, Age, and Mental Health

Kurki-Kangas, Leena; Marttunen, Mauri; Fröjd, Sari; Kaltiala-Heino, Riittakerttu

doi:10.1080/15388220.2018.1488136

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Given that from early to late adolescence, both cognitive abilities including perspective taking, emotional and behavioral controls and sexuality mature (Cacciatore et al., 2018 (under review); Moshman, 2011 ; Steinberg, 2005 ) it could have been expected that in peer groups of middle to late adolescents, sexual harassment behavior would decrease and the adolescents would be more careful not to directly or indirectly infringe the boundaries of their potentially more vulnerable peers, such as those belonging to sexual minorities. As to school bullying, such favorable development has been suggested (Kurki-Kangas et al., 2018 ). The same aspects of progressing development could also make sexual minority adolescents themselves more able to cope with minority stress and therefore less vigilant for heterosexist communications.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adolescents of different ages likely perceive social interactions differently, and therefore the associations between sexual minority status and conceptions of experiencing sexual harrassment may differ between adolescents of different ages. It has, for example, earlier been shown that involvement in school bullying decreased with age both among heterosexual and sexual minority youths (Kurki-Kangas, Marttunen, Fröjd, & Kaltiala-Heino, 2018 ). Similar development could be expected regarding sexual harassment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Adolescents with same-sex interest: experiences of sexual harassment are more common among boys

Kaltiala

Lindberg

Fröjd

et al. 2019

Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose: To explore whether sexual harassment experiences are more common among adolescents reporting romantic and erotic interests in the same sex and both sexes, when sociodemographic and mental health confounding are controlled for, and whether the associations are similar in both sexes and in different phases of adolescence. Methods: A cross-sectional survey among a nationally representative dataset of 25,147 boys and 25,257 girls in comprehensive school, and 33,231 boys and 36,765 girls in upper secondary education. Selfreports of experiences of sexual harassment, and emotional (depression) and behavioral (delinquency) symptoms were used. Results: All associations between sexual minority status and harassment diminished clearly when mental disorder dimensions were controlled for. In the comprehensive school sample (mean age 15.4 years), sexual harassment experiences were 4-7-fold more common among boys, and 1.5-3-fold among girls, with same-sex/ both-sexes interest, compared to those interested exclusively in the opposite sex. In the upper secondary education sample (mean age 17.4 years), among boys, sexual harassment was reported 3-6-fold more commonly by those not exclusively heterosexually interested. Among older girls, a slight increase in sexual harassment experiences was seen among those interested in both sexes. Conclusions: Sexual harassment experiences are associated with sexual minority status, particularly among boys. Confounding by mental disorders needs to be accounted for when studying sexual minority status and sexual harassment.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescents with same-sex interest: experiences of sexual harassment are more common among boys

Kaltiala

Lindberg

Fröjd

et al. 2019

Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In line with the theory of heteronormativity and heterosexism, sexual minority (Alanko, 2014; Kaltiala‐Heino et al, 2019) and gender minority (Alanko, 2014; Mitchell et al, 2014; Toomey et al, 2012; Ybarra et al, 2015) adolescents appear to suffer from sexual harassment more commonly than those belonging to cisgender, the heterosexual majority. Sexual minority (Kurki‐Kangas et al, 2019; Ybarra et al, 2015) and gender minority (Ybarra et al, 2015) youth have also been found to report disproportionately frequent experiences of bullying, a considerable share of which is of a sexual nature (Ashbaug & Cornell, 2008) and may indirectly relate to gender and sexuality even when explicitly having unrelated content (Alanko, 2014; Lehtonen, 2003). A Spanish study reported that among transgender people, those disclosing their gender identity during adolescence experienced more harassment related to gender expression and sexuality than did those disclosing their gender identity only later (Devis‐Devis et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transgender identity and experiences of sexual harassment in adolescence

Kaltiala

Ellonen

2022

Child Abuse Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Gender-diverse adolescents have reported excessive experiences of sexual harassment, but studies on this are few and suffer from methodological problems. Our aim was to compare experiences of sexual harassment between adolescents belonging to different gender-identity groups. A nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 127,210 adolescents aged 14-20 in Finland in 2017 was used. The respondents were pupils in the eighth and ninth grades of the compulsory nine-year comprehensive school with mean (sd) age of 14.83 (0.82) years and students in upper secondary school (age: mean (sd) 16.84 (0.83) years) and vocational school (17.29 (2.43) years). Cisgender, opposite sex-identifying and non-binary adolescents were compared. Selfreports of experiences of sexual harassment, emotional symptoms and externalising behaviours (bullying perpetration, frequent alcohol use, truancy, drug use) were elicited. The data were analysed using cross-tabulations and logistic regression. When confounders were controlled for, odds ratios were increased for gender harassment (OR 2.0), unwelcome sexual attention (OR 1.7) and sexual coercion (OR 2.0) among adolescents with non-binary gender identity, and for gender harassment (OR 2.1) among those identifying with the opposite sex. Subjection to sexual harassment is particularly associated with non-binary gender identity. This may reflect that others use sexual harassment as a form of control of gender-nonconforming self-expression.

show abstract

“…Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) adolescents in Iceland were more likely to bully others than non-LGB students (Thorsteinsson et al, 2017). In a Finnish study (Kurki-Kangas et al, 2019), same-and both-gender sexual minority youth were more likely to bully others than their exclusively opposite-gender attracted peers. Other findings report that bisexual girls are more likely to have been bullies-and victims-than heterosexual girls (Berlan, Corliss, Field, Goodman, & Austin, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Romantic love and involvement in bullying and cyberbullying in 15-year-old adolescents from eight European countries and regions

Cosma

Költő

Young

et al. 2022

Journal of LGBT Youth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sexual minority youth are at greater risk for bullying victimization than their heterosexual peers but data on perpetration and cybervictimization is limited. Using representative data from seven European countries and one region (N = 14,545), this study compared traditional bullying victimization and perpetration, and cyberbullying victimization among 15-year-old adolescents who reported ever being in love with same or both gender peers (sexual minority) versus opposite gender peers (non-minority). Adolescents who have never been in love and nonrespondents were also included. Analyses were stratified by gender and adjusted for country/region and family affluence. Traditional bullying perpetration was more likely to be reported by both-gender attracted girls, while bullying victimization was more likely to be reported by both-gender attracted girls and both-and same-gender attracted boys. All sexual minority youth were more likely to report cybervictimization compared to their non-minority peers. Adolescents who have never been in love reported lower levels of bullying involvement than all other youth. Sexual minority stigma may contribute to higher risk of bullying involvement among adolescents. Interventions need to specifically address bullying involvement and associated health risks of sexual minority youth. Available evidence shows that explicit school policies and interventions tailored to local settings are particularly effective.

show abstract

Sexual Orientation and Bullying Involvement in Adolescence: The Role of Gender, Age, and Mental Health

Cited by 14 publications

References 49 publications

Adolescents with same-sex interest: experiences of sexual harassment are more common among boys

Adolescents with same-sex interest: experiences of sexual harassment are more common among boys

Transgender identity and experiences of sexual harassment in adolescence

Romantic love and involvement in bullying and cyberbullying in 15-year-old adolescents from eight European countries and regions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About