Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2019
Abstract
Background: Childhood abuse and neglect (CAN) and intimate partner violence victimization (IPV) is prevalent among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals (LGB). Identification of distinct patterns of childhood and adult victimization, including technology-mediated and face-to-face IPV, and their cumulative relations to mental/behavioral health challenges, among LGB people is needed to facilitate identification of at-risk individuals.
Objective: Using latent class analysis, we first sought to identify patterns of lifetime interpersonal victimization, primarily five types of CAN and IPV in LGB emerging adults. Second, we examined if LGB-status and race/ethnicity predicted classmembership; third, we assessed differences between the latent classes on emotion dysregulation, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and alcohol use. Participants: Participants were 288 LGB adults between 18-29 years (M = 25.35, SD = 2.76; 41.7% gay/lesbian) recruited via Amazon MTurk.
Methods and Results: The 3-step LCA identified five-latent classes: high victimization, childhood emotional abuse and neglect, cybervictimization, adult face-to-face IPV, and lower victimization. People of color (including Hispanics) were more likely to be in the high victimization class, and bisexual individuals, especially bisexual women, in the childhood emotional abuse and neglect class. High victimization and childhood emotional abuse and neglect classes had elevated emotion dysregulation levels and depression and anxiety symptoms, and the high victimization class reported the highest levels of alcohol use.
Conclusion: Findings suggest a detrimental effect of cumulative interpersonal victimization on emotion dysregulation and the mental/behavioral health of LGB emerging adults, with bisexuals and LGB-people of color at heightened risk of cumulative victimization and of related mental/behavioral health challenges.
Recommended Citation
Charak, R., Villarreal, L., Schmitz, R. M., Hirai, M., & Ford, J. D. (2019). Patterns of childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence, emotion dysregulation, and mental health symptoms among gay, lesbian, and bisexual emerging adults: A 3-step latent class approach. Child Abuse and Neglect, 89, 99-110. doi.10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.007
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
First Page
99
Last Page
110
Publication Title
Child Abuse and Neglect
DOI
10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.007
Comments
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Original published version available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.007.