The following is a summary of “A Nationally Representative Study of Sexual Orientation and High-Risk Drinking From Adolescence to Young Adulthood,” published in the February 2023 issue of Adolescent Health by Luk et al.

To identify possible intervention targets related to sexual orientation differences in high-risk drinking behaviors, such as peer drunkenness, parental knowledge about their adolescent’s locations and actions, and depressive symptoms. The NEXT Generation Health Study surveyed 2,051 adolescents over several years. Testing for indirect effects linking sexual orientation in 11th grade (3.4% of males and 8.4% of females were sexual minorities) to past 30-day HED over six years and past-year high-intensity binge drinking at four years after high school was conducted using latent growth curve and longitudinal path analyses.

Men from sexual minorities did not have a higher incidence of hazardous drinking than men from other groups. In contrast, by 11th grade, females from sexual minorities were likelier to engage in HED than females from heterosexual backgrounds (Odds Ratio = 2.83, 95% confidence interval = 1.43, 5.61). Higher rates of depression during the teen-to-adult transition were also observed among sexual minority females, linked to an increased likelihood of binge drinking. 

Being around intoxicated peers significantly predicted high exposure and heavy binge drinking for both sexes. Young adult sexual minority women reported higher rates of depression and less parental knowledge than young adult heterosexual women. Both were related to risky drinking, which points to chances to reduce differences in high-risk drinking by a sexual orientation that can be taken advantage of with care.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X22007029