Numerous studies have shown that LGB individuals are more likely to have endured stressful childhood experiences than non-sexual and non-gender minority people.
Stressful or adverse childhood experiences refer to experiences of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, as well as household or family dysfunction, that a person endures throughout their childhood and/or adolescence. Having a history of childhood adversity has been linked to negative effects on the health of adults. In other words, having endured several adverse experiences as a child or teenager increases the likelihood of presenting poorer health outcomes, a greater number of psychiatric symptoms, and problematic behaviours, such as drug use or smoking, once the person reaches adulthood. Childhood sexual and emotional abuse seem to be particularly prevalent in LGB people, and these might explain their risk for psychiatric or mental health problems, substance use, sexual revictimization.
This means being the victim of another sexual assault when you have been sexually assaulted in the past, and problematic or risky . Sexual minorities also report greater rates of childhood victimization in the form of peer bullying and maltreatment by adults. Such early experiences also seem to increase the chances of presenting a greater number of lifetime physical ailments than those who are not victimized in such ways.
