Queer adults are more likely to have experienced childhood trauma

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-02-24 03:00

International

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer people are more likely to have experienced childhood trauma before the age of 18 than their heterosexual peers, according to international research. The team used survey data from 60,000 adults, and say 83 per cent of queer respondents had experienced at least one adverse childhood event and 52 per cent reported three or more, compared to 64 per cent of heterosexual respondents reporting one adverse childhood event and 26 per cent reporting three or more. The three types of trauma with the highest gap between queer and heterosexual respondents were sexual abuse, household mental illness and emotional abuse. The researchers say there is no evidence that higher rates of childhood trauma cause higher rates of homosexuality, but queer young people are likely to be more socially vulnerable and can therefore be targets for abuse.