<p> Teen dating violence (TDV) is a prevalent public health concern and is associated with many psychological problems. Protective factors help to reduce the associations. This study sought to examine which protective factors significantly attenuate the association between TDV experiences and psychological problems to identify targets for intervention. A school-based sample of 52,911 9th and 11th grade students (51.5% female, 69.9% White) completed the anonymous 2022 Minnesota Student Survey, providing data on TDV experiences, depressive and anxiety symptoms, nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation, and protective factors such as family support and engagement, safety, extracurricular activities, school engagement, social competency, and positive identity. TDV was reported by 23.2% of females and 11.7% of males and was associated with each psychological problem ( <italic toggle="yes">p</italic> ’s &lt; .001). Protective factor scores were lower among youth with psychological problems than those without, irrespective of TDV experience. Chi-square tests compared the odds of psychological problems by TDV experience; each protective factor (except number of activities) was associated with lower odds of psychological problems even after adjusting for sociodemographic variables. Primary prevention of TDV and reducing the overall prevalence of psychological problems among youth is critical; results suggest that many types of protective factors may be beneficial for youth, even in the face of adversity such as TDV. Support from adults, positive identity, and social competency were identified as several of the strongest protective factors across each psychological problem. </p>

Although a substantial body of research&nbsp;has documented the adverse mental health impacts of discrimination, few studies have examined these outcomes and their association with ethnicity. This study characterizes variation in experiences of race-related bullying and adverse mental health symptoms among a sample of ethnically diverse Black adolescents. We describe experiences of racially motivated bullying and associated protective factors across Black 8th,9th, and 11th grade youth (n=8,201) in the 2022&nbsp;Minnesota Student Survey, using multivariate logistic regression. Over a quarter of youth (29.5%)&nbsp;across all Black ethnic subgroups reported bullying based on their racial identity. Nigerian, Multiethnic Black, and Multiracial youth reported the highest rates of race-related bullying (40.0%, 35.2%, and 35.2%). We find that Oromo Ethiopian&nbsp;(OR=0.51 CI=0.36-0.72; p&lt;0.001), non-Oromo Ethiopian (OR=0.69; CI=0.50-0.95;&nbsp;p&lt;0.05) and Somali (OR=0.63; CI=0.53-0.75; p&lt;0.001) identities were associated with lower reported odds of depression compared to their African American peers. Oromo&nbsp;(OR=0.60; CI=0.43-0.85; p&lt;0.01), Nigerian (OR=0.6; CI=0.45-0.95; p&lt;0.05) , and Somali (OR=0.65; CI=0.54-0.78; p&lt;0.001) youth reported lower odds of anxiety symptoms while Multiracial youth reported greater (OR=1.3; CI= 1.13-1.51; p&lt;0.001)&nbsp;even when controlling for race-related bullying. Similar patterns were seen for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. There exists a considerable amount of heterogeneity within Black adolescent populations, with regards to race-based bullying experience and mental health. These findings support the development of culturally or ethnically tailored interventions to address adverse mental health outcomes for Black youth.

Homophobia is a societal process that marginalizes non-heteronormative identities through attitudes, behaviors, and institutional norms. In digital spaces, these dynamics appear as online homophobia, including homophobic cyberbullying. While prior research has examined cultural aspects of homophobia, fewer studies have explored how adolescents perceive its presence online. This study presents findings from 17 focus groups involving 95 adolescents (Mage = 17.9, SD = 1.3; 77.8% girls, 21.1% boys) conducted in Northern Italy. Participants reflected on online homophobic behavior and the factors that sustain it. Thematic analysis revealed two overarching themes: (1) the influence of cultural and social norms, and (2) personal beliefs and attitudes. Subthemes included the role of family and religion, peer conformity, social validation, gendered expectations, and reliance on stereotypes. Adolescents described online homophobia not only as an extension of offline prejudice, but also as a way to signal belonging or avoid marginalization. Participants also discussed emotional motives such as fear, insecurity, and frustration as key drivers behind online homophobic behavior. These findings point to the need for educational and policy interventions that address the normalization of homophobic language, foster critical digital literacy, and promote online spaces that support gender and sexual diversity.

Studies show bias-based bullying and harassment compromise health for youth with minoritized identities, and heavy/regular use of cannabis has implications for adolescent brain development. We examined how regular cannabis use varied by experiences of bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIE) or race and ethnicity, and social positions. Data came from 8th, 9th, and 11th graders completing the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey (N = 82,933). Students reported past 30 day cannabis use (3–5 times or more versus fewer/none), social positions (i.e., sexual, gender, racial, and ethnic identities, grade, access to resources), and race- and SOGIE-based bullying in the past 30 days (any versus none). Exhaustive Chi-square automatic interaction detection identified combinations of five social positions and bias-based bullying associated with the highest prevalences of regular cannabis use for each grade. Results indicated that across grades, cannabis use was 50–68 % lower among youth in social positions with the highest prevalence of frequent cannabis use when they were not the targets of bias-based bullying compared to youth with the same social positions who were targets of bias. For example, 18 % of 8th graders who had low access to resources; identified as American Indian, Alaska Native, or multiracial; and who experienced SOGIE-based bullying engaged in regular cannabis use, compared to 6.8 % prevalence for youth with the same identities who did not report bias-based bullying. Future research that examines bias-based bullying as a potential mechanism in adolescent cannabis use is warranted, particularly among youth with multiple minoritized identities.

Background: Asian American sexual and gender diverse youth experience bias-based stressors rooted in stereotypes and forms of oppression, which can contribute to coping behaviors like alcohol use. Few studies examine lifetime alcohol use with a focus on understanding heterogeneity within Asian American adolescents. Methods: The analytic sample included Asian American youth in 9th through 12th grade (N = 86,799) who completed the 2017-2019 California Healthy Kids Survey, a statewide, school-based survey. Exhaustive Chi-square automatic interaction detection was conducted using SPSS. Variables included exposure to sexual orientation and gender identity-based (SOGI) and race-based bullying and different social identities (ethnic, sexual, and gender identities and sex assigned at birth). Results: Past-year SOGI-based bullying was reported by 11.2% of students and race-based bullying was reported by 18.8% of students. 19.6% of students indicated lifetime alcohol use, with higher rates among those in older grades (13.1% 9th grade to 31.8% 12th grade). Lowest lifetime alcohol use prevalence were among monoracial Asian American youth who were not the targets of bias-based bullying, while highest lifetime alcohol use rates were among youth identifying as multiracial and/or with a minoritized sexual orientation and experiencing bias-based bullying. Conclusions: Findings suggest bias-based victimization may lead youth to cope or attempt to fit in through alcohol use. Bisexual and multiracial youth, who are often marginalized from monoracial and monosexual communities also had high lifetime alcohol use prevalence. Future research should identify intersectionality-informed strategies to address the nuanced bias-based bullying experiences of Asian American sexual and gender diverse youth, particularly in school settings.

Background: Teen dating violence (TDV) and exposure to intimate partner violence (eIPV) are associated with poorer mental health; however, few studies investigate verbal TDV or the independent contributions that TDV and eIPV have on mental health. Objective: Examine the prevalence of TDV (verbal, physical, sexual, multiple forms) among youth, associations between TDV and mental health, and how eIPV affects these associations. Participants and setting: A school-based sample of 71,635 9th and 11th grade students (51.5% assigned female, 71.9% White) completed the anonymous 2019 Minnesota Student Survey, providing data on mental/emotional/behavioral (MEB) problems and treatment, depression and anxiety symptoms, non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation/attempts, TDV, and eIPV. Methods: Chi-square tests were used to compare the prevalence of mental health concerns by TDV form; logistic regression models controlled for demographic characteristics and eIPV. Interaction tests identified the multiplicative effects of eIPV and TDV on mental health. Results: TDV was reported by 36.4% of those with vs 13.6% of those without eIPV. Each type of TDV was significantly associated with adverse mental health (p's<0.001), even after adjusting for demographic variables and eIPV. The prevalence of each mental health outcome was significantly increased by eIPV for youth with no TDV (p's<0.001), verbal only (p's<0.001), sexual only (p's<0.05), and multiple forms of TDV (p's<0.001); findings for physical TDV varied. Conclusions: Education on healthy, consensual dating relationships is critical, alongside regular screening for eIPV and TDV, referring affected youth for treatment. Further research on factors that attenuate the association between TDV and mental health is warranted.

OBJECTIVES: To apply an intersectional lens to disparities in emotional distress among youth, including multiple social positions and experiences with bias-based bullying. METHODS: Data are from the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey (n 5 80 456). Social positions (race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender) and 2 forms of bias-based bullying (racist, ho-mophobic or transphobic) were entered into decision tree models for depression, anxiety, self-injury, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Groups with the highest prevalence are described. Rates of emotional distress among youth with matching social positions but no bias-based bullying are described for comparison. RESULTS: LGBQ identities (90%) and transgender, gender diverse, and questioning identities (54%) were common among the highest-prevalence groups for emotional distress, often concurrently ; racial and ethnic identities rarely emerged. Bias-based bullying characterized 82% of the highest-prevalence groups. In comparable groups without bias-based bullying, emotional distress rates were 20% to 60% lower (average 38.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight bias-based bullying as an important point for the intervention and mitigation of mental health disparities, particularly among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen-der, gender-diverse, queer, and questioning adolescents. Results point to the importance of addressing bias-based bullying in schools and supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender-diverse, queer, and questioning students at the systemic level as a way of preventing emotional distress. WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Several studies have identified disparities in emotional distress among youth across social positions, but are limited by inclusion of only 2 social positions (eg, sexual orientation and race), use of regression models, and sample sizes that necessitated combining groups. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: LGBQ identities (90%) and transgender/gender-diverse/questioning identities (54%) were common among the highest-prevalence groups for emotional distress, often concurrently; bias-based bullying characterized 82% of highest-prevalence groups. In comparable groups without bias-based bullying, emotional distress rates were 20%-60% lower.

Interpersonal supports are protective against multiple negative health outcomes for youth, such as emotional distress and substance use. However, finding interpersonal support may be difficult for youth exposed to intersecting racism, heterosexism, and cisgenderism, who may feel they are “outsiders within” their multiple communities. This study explores disparities in interpersonal supports for youth at different sociodemographic intersections. The 2019 Minnesota Student Survey includes data from 80,456 high school students, including measures of four interpersonal supports: feeling cared about by parents, other adult relatives, friends, and community adults. Exhaustive Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection analysis was used to examine all interactions among four social identities/positions (racialized/ethnic identity, sexual identity, gender identity, and sex assigned at birth) to identify groups who report different rates of caring from each source (Bonferroni adjusted p < .05). In the overall sample, 69.24 percent perceived the highest level of caring (“very much”) from parents, 50.09 percent from other adult relatives, 39.94 percent from friends, and 15.03 percent from community adults. Models identified considerable differences in each source of support. For example, more than 72 percent of straight, cisgender youth reported their parents cared about them very much, but youth who identified as LGBQ and transgender/gender diverse or gender-questioning were much less likely to report high parent caring (less than 36 percent) across multiple racialized/ethnic identities and regardless of sex assigned at birth. Findings highlight the importance of better understanding the ways interpersonal support might differ across groups and underscore a need for intersectionality-tailored interventions to develop protective interpersonal supports for LGBTQ+ youth, rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.

Purpose: Most extant scholarship that examines the health experiences of sexual and gender diverse youth (SGDY) is limited in the ability to apply an intersectional framework due to small sample si...

Given emerging adulthood is a period of increased independence, it is unclear how much contact emerging adults have with their parents, how this communication occurs, and how frequency of communication differs across sociodemographic characteristics. The main aim of this study was to examine communication patterns and modalities between emerging adults and their parents. Data are from an 8-year longitudinal, population-based study of socio-economically and racially/ethnically diverse adolescents followed into emerging adulthood (n = 1539; mean age = 22.1; 53.1% female). Latent profile analysis results supported a 5-class model, in which classes were characterized by patterns of frequency of communication with parents across different modalities. The most common communication modality included medium levels of engagement (i.e., few times/week), with both parents, and was in-person or via the phone (i.e., calls, text messages, email). Results differed by race/ethnicity. Findings from this exploratory study may be useful for supporting positive communication patterns between emerging adults and their parents and may inform what intervention delivery format (e.g., phone, social media-based, in-person) may be more effective for certain parent/emerging adult subgroups engaging in family-based interventions.