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. 2014;84(1):54-65.
doi: 10.1037/h0098854.

Peer harassment and risky behavior among sexual minority girls and boys

Alexa Martin-Storey  1 , Robert Crosnoe  2
Affiliations

Peer harassment and risky behavior among sexual minority girls and boys

Alexa Martin-Storey et al. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2014.

Abstract

The role of peer harassment in the association between sexual minority status and adolescent risky behavior was examined for 15-year-olds in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 957). The findings, although exploratory, suggest the importance of gender. For girls, peer harassment was best viewed as a moderator of the link between sexual minority status and increased risky behavior. It intensified an existing association, reflecting the gendered nature of the impact of sexual minority status on the adolescent social context. For boys, peer harassment was primarily a mediator, such that sexual minority status was associated with more risky behavior via elevated harassment, although sexual minority status itself was associated with lower risky behavior overall.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mediation model
Figure 2
Figure 2
Moderation model
Figure 3
Figure 3
Predicted levels of risky behavior among girls, by sexual minority status and harassment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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