SURVEY TITLE: Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey
ACRONYM: MNAHS
SPONSOR: The Adolescent Health Program of the University of Minnesota, in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Education.
SURVEY PURPOSE: The survey was developed by a team of adolescent health researchers, educators, health professionals, and social scientists from Minnesota and across the country; it contained questions about, for example, students' home life, their interaction with parents and peers, their performance in school, their levels of stress, their self-esteem and body image, their use of drugs, whether they had ever attempted suicide, and whether they had ever been physically or sexually abused.
LOCATION SAMPLED: Minnesota.
YEARS SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTED: 1986-1987.
SAMPLE SIZE: Over 36,000 public school students in grades 7 through 12 participated in the survey during the 1986-87 school year. The survey covered 86 school districts statewide.
METHOD OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION: Self-completed in classrooms.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTIONS:
1) “Which of the following best describes your feelings? (a) 100% heterosexual (attracted to persons of the opposite sex) (b) Mostly heterosexual (c) Bisexual (equally attracted to men and women) (d) Mostly homosexual (e) 100% gay/lesbian; attracted to persons of the same sex) (f) Not sure”
2) “Have you ever had any kind of sexual experience with a male/ (a) yes (b) no. Have you ever had any kind of sexual experience with a female? (a) yes (b) no”
3) “Which of the following best describes your feelings? (a) I am only attracted to people of the same sex as mine, and I will only be sexual with persons of the same sex (b) I am strongly attracted to people of the same sex as mine, and most of my sexual experiences will be with persons of the same sex as mine (c) I am equally attracted to men and women and would like to be sexual with both (d) I am strongly attracted to people of the opposite sex, and most of my sexual experiences will be with persons of the opposite sex (e) I am only attracted to people of the opposite sex, and I will only be sexual with persons of the opposite sex.”
4) “When you think or daydream about sex, do you think about: (a) males (b) females (c) both?”
RESULTS:
DATA ACCESS: unknown/unavailable.
ACRONYM: MNAHS
SPONSOR: The Adolescent Health Program of the University of Minnesota, in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Education.
SURVEY PURPOSE: The survey was developed by a team of adolescent health researchers, educators, health professionals, and social scientists from Minnesota and across the country; it contained questions about, for example, students' home life, their interaction with parents and peers, their performance in school, their levels of stress, their self-esteem and body image, their use of drugs, whether they had ever attempted suicide, and whether they had ever been physically or sexually abused.
LOCATION SAMPLED: Minnesota.
YEARS SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTED: 1986-1987.
SAMPLE SIZE: Over 36,000 public school students in grades 7 through 12 participated in the survey during the 1986-87 school year. The survey covered 86 school districts statewide.
METHOD OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION: Self-completed in classrooms.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTIONS:
1) “Which of the following best describes your feelings? (a) 100% heterosexual (attracted to persons of the opposite sex) (b) Mostly heterosexual (c) Bisexual (equally attracted to men and women) (d) Mostly homosexual (e) 100% gay/lesbian; attracted to persons of the same sex) (f) Not sure”
2) “Have you ever had any kind of sexual experience with a male/ (a) yes (b) no. Have you ever had any kind of sexual experience with a female? (a) yes (b) no”
3) “Which of the following best describes your feelings? (a) I am only attracted to people of the same sex as mine, and I will only be sexual with persons of the same sex (b) I am strongly attracted to people of the same sex as mine, and most of my sexual experiences will be with persons of the same sex as mine (c) I am equally attracted to men and women and would like to be sexual with both (d) I am strongly attracted to people of the opposite sex, and most of my sexual experiences will be with persons of the opposite sex (e) I am only attracted to people of the opposite sex, and I will only be sexual with persons of the opposite sex.”
4) “When you think or daydream about sex, do you think about: (a) males (b) females (c) both?”
RESULTS:
- Remafedi G, French S, Story M, Resnick MD, Blum R. The relationship between suicide risk and sexual orientation: results of a population-based study. Am J Public Health. 1998 Jan;88(1):57-60. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship between sexual orientation and suicide risk in a population-based sample of adolescents. METHODS: Participants were selected from a cross-sectional, statewide survey of junior and senior public high school students. All males (n = 212) and females (n = 182) who described themselves as bisexual/homosexual were compared with 336 gender-matched heterosexual respondents on three outcome measures: suicidal ideation, intent, and self-reported attempts. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between sexual orientation and outcome measures with adjustment for demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Suicide attempts were reported by 28. 1 % of bisexual/homosexual males, 20.5% of bisexual/homosexual females, 14.5% of heterosexual females, and 4.2% of heterosexual males. For males, but not females, bisexual/homosexual orientation was associated with suicidal intent (odds ratio [OR] = 3.61 95% confidence interval [CI = 1.40, 9.36) and attempts (OR=7.10; 95% CI=3.05, 16.53). CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence of a strong association between suicide risk and bisexuality or homosexuality in males.
- French SA, Story M, Remafedi G, Resnick MD, Blum RW. Sexual orientation and prevalence of body dissatisfaction and eating disordered behaviors: a population-based study of adolescents. Int J Eat Disord. 1996 Mar;19(2):119-26. OBJECTIVE: The hypothesis that homosexual orientation would be associated with higher rates of body dissatisfaction, dieting, and eating disordered behaviors in males, but lower rates in females, relative to those of heterosexual orientation, was examined. METHODS: A population-based sample of 36,320 students in Grades 7 through 12 completed a health behavior survey that included questions on sexual orientation, body satisfaction, and weight control behaviors. A subset of heterosexual males (N = 212) and females (N = 182) were selected for comparison with the adolescents who self-identified as homosexual (N = 81 males and N = 38 females) or bisexual (N = 131 males and N = 144 females). RESULTS: Homosexual males were more likely to report a poor body image (27.8% vs. 12.0%), frequent dieting (8.9% vs. 5.5%), binge eating (25.0% vs. 10.6%), or purging behaviors (e.g., vomiting: 11.7% vs. 4.4%) compared with heterosexual males. Homosexual females were more likely than heterosexual females to report a positive body image (42.1% vs. 20.5%). However, they were not less likely to report frequent dieting (20.8% vs. 23.7%), binge eating (25.0% vs. 31.8%), or purging behaviors (e.g. vomiting: 19.4% vs. 12.1%). DISCUSSION: These results support the hypothesis that homosexual orientation is associated with greater body dissatisfaction and problem eating behaviors in males, but less body dissatisfaction in females. The possible role of sociocultural influences or gender identification on these relationships is discussed.
- Remafedi G, Resnick M, Blum R, Harris L. Demography of sexual orientation in adolescents. Pediatrics. 1992 Apr;89(4 Pt 2):714-21. This study was undertaken to explore patterns of sexual orientation in a representative sample of Minnesota junior and senior high school students. The sample included 34,706 students (grades 7 through 12) from diverse ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic strata. Five items pertaining to sexual attraction, fantasy, behavior, and affiliation were embedded in a self-administered survey of adolescent health. Overall, 10.7% of students were "unsure" of their sexual orientation; 88.2% described themselves as predominantly heterosexual; and 1.1% described themselves as bisexual or predominantly homosexual. The reported prevalence of homosexual attractions (4.5%) exceeded homosexual fantasies (2.6%), sexual behavior (1%), or affiliation (0.4%). Gender differences were minor; but responses to individual sexual orientation items varied with age, religiosity, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Uncertainty about sexual orientation diminished in successively older age groups, with corresponding increases in heterosexual and homosexual affiliation. The findings suggest an unfolding of sexual identity during adolescence, influenced by sexual experience and demographic factors.
- Saewyc EM, Bearinger LH, Heinz PA, Blum RW, Resnick MD. Gender differences in health and risk behaviors among bisexual and homosexual adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 1998 Sep;23(3):181-8. OBJECTIVE: This study explored gender differences in the health and risk behaviors of 394 self-identified bisexual and homosexual adolescents who participated in an anonymous, school-based survey. METHODS: Respondents included 182 girls and 212 boys; girls were significantly younger than boys (p < 0.001), so respondents were further grouped as younger (< or =14 years) and older (> or =15 years) for analysis. Chi-square was used to test for gender differences in health perceptions and risk behaviors. Items included general health perceptions and health care access, body image and disordered eating behaviors, sexual behaviors, alcohol use, and emotional health measures including mood, life satisfaction, and suicidal ideation and attempts. RESULTS: Both younger and older girls were significantly more likely than their male age mates to report a history of sexual abuse, dissatisfaction with weight, a negative body image, more frequent dieting, and an earlier age at onset of sexual intercourse. Both younger and older boys were significantly more likely than girls to have a positive body image, to rate themselves as healthier than peers, to report no regular source of health care, to be sexually experienced, and to drink alcohol more often and in greater quantity; a significantly greater proportion of older boys than older girls reported alcohol use before school (19.0% vs. 3.9%; p < 0.05). No significant gender differences were found for measures of emotional health, including suicidal ideation and attempts; however, nearly 1 of 3 older boys and girls reported at least one suicide attempt. CONCLUSIONS: Gender is a substantive source of variation in health and risk behaviors among bisexual and
homosexual adolescents. Health care providers should incorporate gender-specific approaches to health promotion and risk reduction with young people who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
- Saewyc EM, Bearinger LH, Blum RW, Resnick MD. Sexual intercourse, abuse and pregnancy among adolescent women: does sexual orientation make a difference? Fam Plann Perspect. 1999 May-Jun;31(3):127-31. CONTEXT: Although a limited amount of research has retrospectively explored the childhood and adolescent heterosexual experiences of lesbians, little is known about the prevalence of heterosexual behavior and related risk factors or about pregnancy histories among lesbian and bisexual teenagers. METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted using responses from a subsample of 3,816 students who completed the 1987 Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey. Behaviors, risk factors and pregnancy histories were compared among adolescents who identified themselves as lesbian or bisexual, as unsure of their sexual orientation and as heterosexual. RESULTS: Overall, bisexual or lesbian respondents were about as likely as heterosexual women ever to have had intercourse (33% and 29%, respectively), but they had a significantly higher prevalence of pregnancy (12%) and physical or sexual abuse (19-22%) than heterosexual or unsure adolescents. Among sexually experienced respondents, bisexual or lesbian and heterosexual women reported greater use of ineffective contraceptives (12-15% of those who used a method) than unsure adolescents (9%); bisexual or lesbian respondents were the most likely to have frequent intercourse (22%, compared with 15-17% of the other groups). In the sample overall, among those who were sexually experienced and among those who had ever been pregnant, bisexual or lesbian women were the most likely to have engaged in prostitution during the previous year. CONCLUSIONS: Providers of reproductive health care and family planning services should not assume that pregnant teenagers are heterosexual or that adolescents who say they are bisexual, lesbian or unsure of their sexual orientation are not in need of family planning counseling. Further research should explore the interactions between adolescent sexual identity development and sexual risk behaviors. PIP: The influence of sexual orientation on adolescents' sexual behaviors and pregnancy histories was investigated in a subsample of 3816 female adolescents, 12-19 years old, who completed the 1987 Minnesota (US) Adolescent Health Survey. 182 identified themselves as bisexual or lesbian, 1753 were unsure of their sexual orientation, and 1881 were heterosexual. Bisexual/lesbian respondents were about as likely as heterosexual respondents ever to have had intercourse (33.0% and 29.3%, respectively), but they had a significantly higher prevalence of childhood physical abuse (19.3% vs. 11.9%) and sexual abuse (22.1% vs. 15.3%) than their heterosexual counterparts. Among sexually experienced respondents, 29.8% of bisexual/lesbian adolescents, 43.5% of those unsure about their identity, and 23.1% of heterosexuals used no contraception and 12.3%, 8.5%, and 14.5%, respectively, of those who used contraception used an ineffective method. 12.3% of bisexual/lesbian women, 6.1% of those unsure about their sexual orientation, and 5.3% of heterosexual adolescents had experienced a pregnancy; 2 or more pregnancies were reported by 23.5%, 15.1%, and 9.8%, respectively, of ever-pregnant teens. Finally, 9.7% of bisexual/lesbian women had engaged in prostitution in the year preceding the survey, compared with 1.9% of heterosexuals and 3.4% of those unsure about their orientation. These findings suggest that adolescents who identify themselves as lesbian or bisexual are at high risk of pregnancy and poor contraceptive practices. Providers of reproductive health care and family planning services should not assume that their pregnant adolescent patients are heterosexual or that lesbian clients or those unsure of their sexual orientation are not in need of contraception.
DATA ACCESS: unknown/unavailable.