Abstract
The mechanisms underlying sexual orientation differences in psychopathology originating in childhood remain understudied since sexual orientation does not directly manifest in childhood. This study tested whether childhood gender nonconformity and parental maltreatment before age 6 years 9 months partly explained sexual orientation disparities in the developmental trajectories of emotional and behavioral difficulties from age 6 years 9 months to 11 years 8 months. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children was used (2182 boys and 2422 girls, Mage = 15.5, 90% White). After controlling for early life factors, non-heterosexual boys and girls displayed significantly greater emotional and behavioral difficulties than their heterosexual counterparts at all three ages. There was a sex difference in the mediating effects. For girls, sexual orientation disparities in childhood emotional and behavioral difficulties were partially explained by childhood gender nonconformity. For boys, sexual orientation disparities in childhood emotional and behavioral difficulties were partially explained by a path through greater childhood gender nonconformity, leading to increased risk of being the targets of parental maltreatment. Childhood gender nonconformity, parental maltreatment, and other early life factors only partially explain sexual orientation disparities in childhood emotional and behavioral difficulties. The mediating effects of childhood gender nonconformity and parental maltreatment on the association between sexual orientation and childhood emotional and behavioral difficulties differ between the sexes.
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The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children is available through the UK Data Service.
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Acknowledgements
We are extremely grateful to all the families who took part in this study, the midwives for their help in recruiting them, and the whole ALSPAC team, which includes interviewers, computer and laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, managers, receptionists, and nurses. ALSPAC data are available through the UK Data Service. The analytic code necessary to reproduce the analyses is available from the first author upon requested. The analyses presented here were not preregistered.
Funding
The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome (Grant ref: 217065/Z/19/Z) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. This publication is the work of the authors and they will serve as guarantors for the contents of this paper. A comprehensive list of grants funding is available on the ALSPAC website (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf). This research was specifically funded by The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No.: YJ2021164).
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Xu, Y., Ma, Y. & Rahman, Q. Childhood Gender Nonconformity and Parental Maltreatment as Mediators of Sexual Orientation Disparities in Childhood Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties. Arch Sex Behav 53, 1777–1791 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02825-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02825-5