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Out yonder: sexual-minority adolescents in rural communities in British Columbia
Colleen S Poon1, Elizabeth M Saewyc
1The McCreary Centre Society, 3552 East Hastings St, Vancouver, BC, V5K 2A7 Canada. colleen@mcs.bc.ca
Objectives:
We compared sexual-minority adolescents living in rural communities with their peers in urban areas in British Columbia, exploring differences in emotional health, victimization experiences, sexual behaviors, and substance use.
Methods:
We analyzed a population-based sample of self-identified lesbian, gay, or bisexual respondents from the British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey of 2003 (weighted n=6905). We tested rural-urban differences separately by gender with the chi2 test and logistic regressions.
Results:
We found many similarities and several differences. Rural sexual-minority adolescent boys were more likely than were their urban peers to report suicidal behaviors and pregnancy involvement. Rural sexual-minority adolescents, especially girls, were more likely to report various types of substance use. Rural status was associated with a lower risk of dating violence and higher risk of early sexual debut for sexual-minority girls and a higher risk of dating violence and lower risk of early sexual debut for sexual-minority boys.
Conclusions:
Location should be a demographic consideration in monitoring the health of sexual-minority adolescents. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents in rural communities may need additional support and services as they navigate adolescence.
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