Sexual Minority Stress: Preliminary Evidence of Accelerated Pubertal Development in Early Adolescence

Societal stressors place a tremendous burden on individuals who identify with a sexual minority identity. While minority stress experienced by racial/ethnic minority groups has been linked to accelerated aging, this link has yet to be examined among sexual minority youth. This study explores whether sexual minority youth who indicate experiencing stress at home or school (Minority Stress) due to their identity show evidence of accelerated aging (pubertal status or tempo) compared to those who do not report such experiences (No Minority Stress).

Data are from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Participants were approximately 9-10 years old at baseline, 10-11 years old at Time 1, and 11-12 years old at Time 2. Measures included child-reports of sexual minority identity and stressors, and parent-reports of adolescent pubertal development.

Among 432 included participants who identified with a sexual minority identity, 83.6% were assigned female at birth and 24.8% were in the Minority Stress group. There were consistent results showing that sexual minority youth in the Minority Stress group showed accelerated pubertal status over time compared to those in the No Minority Stress group. Pubertal tempo (i.e., slope) was only accelerated for those who first identified as sexual minority at Time 2.

Our findings underscore that minority stress experienced by sexual minority youth may be linked to differences in pubertal development among these youth. The developmental and clinical implications of these patterns present critical lines for future research concerned with the wellbeing of sexual minority youth.