Victimization experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals: a meta-analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis quantitatively compiled the results of studies from 1992 to 2009 to determine the prevalence and types of victimization experienced by lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. Based on the results of three searches, 386 studies were retrieved and coded. Comparisons were made across all LGB individuals (138 studies), between LGB and heterosexual individuals (65 studies), and between LGB females and males (53 studies), with over 500,000 participants. Multiple types of victimization were coded, including discrimination, physical assault, and school victimization. Findings revealed that for LGB individuals, reports of victimization experiences were substantial (e.g., 55% experienced verbal harassment, and 41% experienced discrimination) and some types have increased since a 1992 review, while others have decreased. LGB individuals experienced greater rates of victimization than heterosexual individuals (range: d = .04-.58). LGB males experienced some types of victimization more than LGB females (e.g., weapon assault and being robbed) but, overall, the gender differences were small. It can be concluded that LGB individuals still experience a substantial amount of victimization. Implications for research methods are discussed, including recommendations for sampling and measurement of victimization. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Journal of Sex Research for the following free supplemental resource(s): Supplementary Tables. These tables are referred to in the text of this article as "Table S1," "Table S2," etc.].