By Lee Kyung-min
Homosexual adolescents are more likely to engage in various risky behaviors health-wise than their heterosexual peers due to social stigma, marginalization and prejudice against sexual minorities, a study showed Monday.
Doctors Lee Dong-yun and Choi Doo-seok at Samsung Medical Center analyzed data of 373,371 students aged between 14 and 19 collected by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) between 2008 and 2012.
Of them, 2,306 students, or 0.6 percent ― 1,360 boys, 946 girls ― said they had sexual contact with persons of the same sex. Sexual contact included kissing, caressing and intercourse.
In contrast, 127,594 students, or 34.2 percent ― 60,290 boys, 67,304 girls ― said they had sexual contact with persons of the opposite sex.
Compared to the heterosexual students, homosexual students were 2.8 times more likely to drink alcohol, 4.2 times more likely to smoke and 14 times more likely to use drugs.
Following marginalization and prejudice, homosexual students were 2.2 times more likely to suffer depression, as well as being 2.7 times more likely to contemplate suicide and 4.1 times more likely to attempt suicide.
“Sexual minority adolescents may confront unique health problems and stigma, which could lead to psychological distress and increase the likelihood of risky behavior with poorer health outcomes,” the study said.
The study, the first to analyze sexual minority teens in Asia, was published in the latest issue of the medical scientific journal Medicine.