Victimization Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness by Sex and LGBT Status

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Family Context & Processes

Abstract

Adolescent homelessness often cooccurs with additional risk, including victimization. Understanding the risk experiences that accompany adolescent homelessness serves providers who strive to meet their needs. Among samples of individuals experiencing homelessness, women and girls experience higher rates of victimization, specifically sexual victimization (Armstrong et al., 2018). Victimization is also more common among teens who identify as LGBT (Dank et al., 2013), yet few studies assess the relationship between victimization and sexual/gender identity among homeless youth.
This study tests relations between homelessness and victimization, considering likely differences based on sex and LGBT status. Based on past findings, we expected homelessness would signal increased risk for victimization and that sex and LGBT status would moderate this relationship. We expected females and youth identified as LGBT to experience higher rates of victimization.

Methods
Data come from the 2019 Philadelphia Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 2019 Philadelphia YRBSS was an anonymous survey conducted at high schools (unweighted n =1217), using a complex sample design. Findings represent all public, non-charter high school students in Philadelphia. Youth reported experiencing homelessness (weighted: 8.9%) using two items (in the past 30 days, if the child slept in a homeless situation or slept away from parents/guardians because she was kicked out/thrown out/abandoned). Victimization was measured using two categories: sexual victimization (forced sexual intercourse and unwanted sexual experiences) and physical victimization (threatened at school and physical harm inflicted by a dating partner). LGBT status included individuals who identified as lesbian/gay, bisexual, or transgender (weighted: 15.7%). Analyses exploited the complex sampling design and used logistic regression to test hypotheses, controlling for age and race/ethnicity. We tested three sets of models with any victimization, sexual victimization, and physical victimization as the dependent variables.

Results
Students who experienced homelessness were at higher risk of both sexual (Exp(B) = 3.48; 95% CI: 1.46 – 8.30; p =.01) and physical (Exp(B) = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.04 – 5.67; p = .04) victimization. Neither sex nor LGBT status moderated these relationships. LGBT status (Exp(B) = 2.20; 95% CI: 1.47 – 3.30; p = .00) and homelessness (Exp(B) = 2.61; 95% CI: 1.15 – 5.92; p = .02) were associated with higher risk of sexual victimization when considered as simultaneous main effects.

Discussion
Homelessness was associated with increased risk of victimization. Although sex and LGBT status did not moderate these relationships, LGBT status independently predicted higher rates of sexual victimization, above and beyond the effect of homelessness. The findings suggest males and females experiencing homelessness exhibit similarly increased risk for victimization and that LGBT status and homelessness impart independent risk for sexual victimization. Results add to growing evidence that homelessness and identifying as LGBT represent risk for victimization, suggesting that students experiencing these risks require specific intervention and support.

Authors

• Claire Flatley, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
  Presenting Author

• Danielle Hatchimonji
  Non-Presenting Author

• J. J. Cutuli, Nemours Children’s Health System
  Non-Presenting Author