• Jessica N Fish and Laura Baams.
• 1 Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas.
• LGBT Health. 2018 Aug 1; 5 (6): 359-367.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess trends in alcohol-related disparities between heterosexual and sexual minority adolescents in the United States from 2007 to 2015.MethodsData were pooled from the 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (N = 207,367) to estimate trends, disparities, and changes in disparities of four alcohol-related behaviors (i.e., lifetime alcohol use, early onset use (<13 years of age), past 30-day use, and past 30-day heavy episodic drinking [HED]) among heterosexual youth and three subgroups of sexual minority youth (SMY) (i.e., gay/lesbian, bisexual, and unsure). Models were sex stratified and adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, and state of data collection.ResultsThe prevalence of all alcohol-related behaviors declined from 2007 to 2015 for heterosexual youth, but not as consistently for SMY. Disparities in alcohol-related behaviors between heterosexual youth and SMY largely remained stable or widened from 2007 to 2015. Disparities in lifetime alcohol use and past 30-day use were larger between heterosexual boys and gay boys in 2015 relative to 2007. Disparities in early onset use and past 30-day HED were also larger between heterosexual girls and lesbian girls in 2015 relative to 2007. The disparity in past 30-day use between heterosexual girls and bisexual girls was smaller in 2015 compared with 2007.ConclusionsDespite overall declines in adolescent alcohol use, alcohol-related disparities between heterosexual youth and SMY persist and, for some SMY, they have widened.

22 keywords...

hide…