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Hazardous Substance Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults: A Deeper Look into Distal Minority Stressors
Zig Hinds1, Cara Herbitter2,3, William T Bryant4,5
1National Center for PTSD, Behavioral Science Division, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract:
Discrimination and victimization drive health disparities among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals, yet little is known about the relative impacts of specific experience types on hazardous substance use. Using data from 704 SGM adults, we examined SGM-related discrimination vs. victimization and specific experiences as predictors of hazardous substance use. SGM-related victimization, not discrimination, predicted hazardous substance use, and SGM-related sexual assault and harassment predicted hazardous alcohol use, although only sexual assault predicted hazardous drug use. These findings implicate lifetime SGM-related victimization, and SGM-related sexual assault and harassment specifically, as key correlates of recent hazardous substance use among SGM adults.
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