LGBTQ+ young people with childhood trauma are at higher risk of phone addiction

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-04-13 01:00

International

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

Young people who are not heterosexual or don't conform to gender norms are more likely to have childhood trauma, which in turn increases their risk of phone addiction, according to Chinese research. The team investigated the links between queer or gender non-conforming children, childhood trauma and inappropriate or excessive smartphone use using data from a school-based Chinese health survey. The researchers say 35.4% of the 85,000 teens included had problematic smartphone use and nearly 96% reported at least one childhood trauma, which includes physical and emotional abuse, family dysfunction, exposure to community violence and the death of a parent. The researchers say queer and gender non-conforming children were likely to report more childhood traumas, and those within this group who reported several childhood traumas were more likely to have problematic smartphone habits. The researchers say their findings show addressing childhood trauma could be an important step for reducing unhealthy smartphone habits for all children, especially those who are queer or gender non-conforming.