Effects of participation in and connectedness to the LGBT community on substance use involvement of sexual minority young people

Demant, D; Hides, L; White, KM; Kavanagh, DJ

Effects of participation in and connectedness to the LGBT community on substance use involvement of sexual minority young people

Demant, D

Hides, L White, KM Kavanagh, DJ

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Addictive Behaviors, 2018, 81 pp. 167 - 174
Issue Date:: 2018-06-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Demant, D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3330-2972	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hides, L	en_US
dc.contributor.author	White, KM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kavanagh, DJ	en_US
dc.date.available	2020-07-01T19:03:28Z
dc.date.issued	2018-06-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Addictive Behaviors, 2018, 81 pp. 167 - 174	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0306-4603	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/127983
dc.description.abstract	© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Introduction: Research shows disproportionate levels of substance use among sexual minority young people. A range of reasons for these disparities have been suggested, including connectedness to and participation in the LGBT community. Little is known about how these constructs are related to substance use involvement in sexual minority (sub)groups or how these relationships are affected by other factors. Methods: 1266 young sexual minority Australians completed a cross-sectional online survey. Multiple regressions were conducted to assess associations between connectedness to and participation in the LGBT community on substance use involvement, before and after controlling for other factors such as substance use motives, psychological distress, wellbeing, resilience, minority stress, and age. Results/conclusion: Most participants identified as homosexual (57%, n = 726) and male (54%, n = 683). In the overall sample, participation in and connectedness the LGBT community were significantly associated with increased substance use involvement before (F(2,1263) = 35.930, p ≤ 0.001, R 2 = 0.052) and after controlling for other variables (F(8,1095) = 33.538, p ≤ 0.001, R 2 = 0.191), with meaningfully higher effect sizes for participation than for connectedness. After controlling for other variables, connectedness only remained significant for homosexuals. Effect sizes for participation were higher for females than males, and bisexuals than homosexuals. However, participation in the LGBT Community was not associated with substance use in participants identifying with a non-binary gender identity. In conclusion, substance use involvement was associated with participation in the LGBT community, but connectedness to the LGBT community only had a weak association with substance use involvement in the homosexual subgroup.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Addictive Behaviors	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.01.028	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Substance Abuse	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Substance-Related Disorders	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Regression Analysis	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Cross-Sectional Studies	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Social Behavior	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Sex Factors	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Residence Characteristics	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Male	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Young Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Social Participation	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Sexual and Gender Minorities	en_US
dc.title	Effects of participation in and connectedness to the LGBT community on substance use involvement of sexual minority young people	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	81	en_US
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services	en_US
utslib.for	1701 Psychology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Public Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	81	en_US

Abstract:

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Introduction: Research shows disproportionate levels of substance use among sexual minority young people. A range of reasons for these disparities have been suggested, including connectedness to and participation in the LGBT community. Little is known about how these constructs are related to substance use involvement in sexual minority (sub)groups or how these relationships are affected by other factors. Methods: 1266 young sexual minority Australians completed a cross-sectional online survey. Multiple regressions were conducted to assess associations between connectedness to and participation in the LGBT community on substance use involvement, before and after controlling for other factors such as substance use motives, psychological distress, wellbeing, resilience, minority stress, and age. Results/conclusion: Most participants identified as homosexual (57%, n = 726) and male (54%, n = 683). In the overall sample, participation in and connectedness the LGBT community were significantly associated with increased substance use involvement before (F(2,1263) = 35.930, p ≤ 0.001, R 2 = 0.052) and after controlling for other variables (F(8,1095) = 33.538, p ≤ 0.001, R 2 = 0.191), with meaningfully higher effect sizes for participation than for connectedness. After controlling for other variables, connectedness only remained significant for homosexuals. Effect sizes for participation were higher for females than males, and bisexuals than homosexuals. However, participation in the LGBT Community was not associated with substance use in participants identifying with a non-binary gender identity. In conclusion, substance use involvement was associated with participation in the LGBT community, but connectedness to the LGBT community only had a weak association with substance use involvement in the homosexual subgroup.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/127983