Primary Submission Category: LGBTQ+
Adverse childhood experience (ACE) exposure among rural, LGBTQ+ individuals: Results from the Illinois Cohort Study
Authors: Kyle Miller Wiley Jenkins Rebecca Bolinski Fanny Mazna Meghan Elgee Lauren Velten
Presenting Author: Kyle Miller*
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) occur during a critical time in human development and may negatively impact health outcomes throughout the lifespan. Studies indicate LGBTQ+ individuals generally face an increased risk of ACE exposure due to identity-based experiences, yet few have examined exposure within LGBTQ+ subgroups. This study aims to describe ACE epidemiology among rural LGBTQ+ individuals and test the hypothesis that individual ACEs exposure varies by subgroup.
LGBTQ+ individuals across largely rural central and southern Illinois participating in the Illinois Cohort study provided demographic data (age, race), their sexual orientation and gender identity, and completed the 17-item Childhood Experiences Survey (CES). Descriptive statistics were produced for the cohort and among grouping variables. regression was applied to obtain odds ratios of reporting ACE items.
The 74 participants who completed the CES had a mean age of 42.3 [s.d.=14.1], and were 93.2% White, 1.4% Black, 4.1% Asian, and 1.4% Other race; were 37.0% gay, 16.4% lesbian, and 46.6% bisexual plus; and were 54.1% cisgender, 24.3% transgender, and 21.6% nonbinary. Total reported ACEs ranged from 0-15 (M=5.66, s.d.=4.26) and the most frequently reported items were physical abuse (64.9%), household member mental illness/suicide (55.4%), and peer victimization (58.1%). Peer victimization was associated with younger age (OR=3.29; 1.27-9.08) and transgender identity (OR=6.11; 1.53-24.47). Emotional neglect was associated with transgender identity (OR=5.00; 1.49-16.77) and lesbian orientation (OR=8.05; 1.69-38.44).
LGBTQ+ individuals experience multiple ACEs which may be compounded by individual identity. Our study suggests that peer victimization and emotional neglect may be more prevalent in LGBTQ+ subgroups. Therefore, future research should expand beyond the 10-item ACE questionnaire when examining LGBTQ+ populations to capture experiences such as peer victimization.