Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep;11(3):508-516.
doi: 10.1037/sgd0000615. Epub 2022 Nov 28.

Sexual Orientation and Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Latent Profile Approach

Alejandra Fernandez  1 , Lucas G Ochoa  2 , Alyssa Lozano  2 , Tae Kyoung Lee  3 , Yannine Estrada  4 , Maria Tapia  4 , Samuel D Lopez Crespo  5 , Guillermo Prado  4
Affiliations

Sexual Orientation and Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Latent Profile Approach

Alejandra Fernandez et al. Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: Sexual orientation is multidimensional, yet existing studies often only assess one dimension. This study examines multiple dimensions of sexual orientation in a sample of Hispanic adolescents using a latent profile analysis. The study also examines differences in levels of adolescent family functioning (i.e., parent-adolescent communication, parental involvement, family communication) and depressive symptoms by latent profile or subgroup.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 456 Hispanic adolescents (M = 13.90 years; SD = 1.37). Adolescents self-reported their sexual orientation by responding to the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (KSOG), family functioning (parent-adolescent communication, parental involvement, family communication), and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) Scale). Latent profile analysis was used to identify heterogeneous groups of adolescents based on their response to the KSOG. A Welch test was used to examine mean levels of depressive symptoms and family functioning across profile membership.

Results: We found that a three-class solution (heterosexual: 90%, mostly bisexual: 6.05%, mostly LGBQ: 3.95%) fit the data best. Results from the Welch test indicated significant differences for parent-adolescent communication and depressive symptoms across latent profiles.

Conclusion: Existing research indicates that sexual minorities are at a disproportionate risk for adverse health outcomes. These findings corroborate best practice recommendations encouraging researchers to assess multiple dimensions of sexual orientation.

Keywords: adolescence; family functioning; latent profile analysis; mental health; sexual orientation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical Standards Author Disclosure Statement All authors have no potential conflicts of interest and no competing financial interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Probabilities of adolescent responses to KSOG scale across three class solution Note. KSOG: Klein Sexual Orientation Grid
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Anhalt K, Toomey RB, & Shramko M (2020). Latinx sexual minority youth adjustment in the context of discrimination and internalized homonegativity: The moderating role of cultural orientation processes. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 8(1), 41–57. 10.1037/lat0000134 - DOI
    1. Barnes HL, & Olson DH (1985). Parent–adolescent communication and the Circumplex Model. Child Development, 56(2), 438–447. 10.2307/1129732 - DOI
    1. Becker T (2022). In Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation. 10.17226/26424 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Berghe WV, Dewaele A, Cox N, & Vincke J (2010). Minority-Specific Determinants of Mental Well-Being Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(1), 153–166. 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00567.x - DOI
    1. Berlin KS, Williams NA, & Parra GR (2014). An introduction to latent variable mixture modeling (part 1): overview and cross-sectional latent class and latent profile analyses. J Pediatr Psychol, 39(2), 174–187. 10.1093/jpepsy/jst084 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources