Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Veterans

Adverse childhood experiences portend vulnerability to numerous physical and mental health concerns across the lifespan. Separate bodies of work suggest that both lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer individuals and military veterans are more likely to report adverse childhood experiences than their non-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer and non-veteran counterparts, respectively. Although lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans experience health disparities compared with non-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans, the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among individuals with both lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer and veteran identities is yet unknown.

Participants were U.S. military veterans (N=14,461) from 18 states that included Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and adverse childhood experiences modules in the 2019 and 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the odds of adverse childhood experiences reported by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans compared with those reported by non-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans. Analyses were conducted in 2023.

While accounting for sociodemographic factors, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans were more likely to report living with someone who experienced mental illness (AOR=2.17, 95% CI=1.35, 3.51), emotional abuse (AOR=1.58, 95% CI=1.11, 2.25), and sexual abuse (AOR=2.21, 95% CI=1.29, 3.76) than non-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans.

With past work indicating that childhood abuse experiences are especially predictive of adverse health in adulthood, these findings suggest that a higher prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans may contribute to health disparities among this population.