Abstract
Gender minority (GM) youth are more likely to engage in sexual behaviors that increase risk of exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. However, family functioning may be protective against sexual risk taking. We characterized longitudinal associations between family functioning (family communication and family satisfaction) and sexual risk behaviors across two years in a community sample of 30 GM adolescents, ages 13–17 years. Participants were purposively recruited from community-based venues, through social media, and peer referrals throughout the New England area and completed surveys every 6 months, with measures of family functioning, sexual risk behaviors, risk factors (depressive and anxious symptoms, perceived stress related to parents), and protective factors (social support, gender-related pride, and community connectedness). Results indicated that higher levels of family communication, improved family satisfaction, and increased social support were protective for sexual risk taking, in general, and specifically for condom use for anal/vaginal sex. In contrast, increased depressive symptoms were associated with lower likelihood of anal/vaginal condom use. Associations between family functioning and sexual risk taking were not attenuated by adding risk and protective factors to the model; thus, these factors did not explain the observed associations between family functioning and sexual risk taking. These findings suggest improved family functioning, greater social support, and lower depressive symptoms are associated with reduced sexual risk taking among gender minority youth, thus making these factors an important target for future prevention efforts.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the many people and organizations who have contributed to this project, including: S. Bryn Austin, Laura Bogart, Diane Ehrensaft, Roberta Goldman, Milagros Rosal, Annie Pullen Sansfaçon, Melissa MacNish, Ralph Vetters, Michelle Forcier, the Harvard CFAR Community Advisory Board, the Fenway Youth Community Advisory Board, Kyle Megrath and Athena Edmonds at Greater Boston PFLAG, Shannon Sennott at TransLate Gender, Nick Teich at Camp Aranu’tiq, Julian Dormitzer at the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth, Mason Dunn at the Massachuetts Transgender Political Coalition, Effie Molina and the LGBT Liaisons at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, Lori Davison at PFLAG Hartford, the Parents of Transgender* Kids Facebook page, Susan Maasch at the Trans Youth Equality Foundation, Eli Godwin, Meghan Doherty, Jax Gonzalez, Til Kus, Julia Medzhitova, LB Moore, Kate Oeser, Elena Rossen, Killian Ruck, Carl Streed Jr., Rachel Kahn, Kate Thomson, Courtney Brown, Neeki Parsa, and the Boston Children’s Hospital Research Informatics Coding Shop. We would also like to thank the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Harvard SOGIE (Sexual Orientation Gender Identity and Expression) Health Equity Research Collaborative. Finally, we would especially like to thank the families who participated in the Trans Teen and Family Narratives Project.
Funding
The Trans Teen and Family Narratives Project was funded by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (K99R00HD082340) and the Boston Children’s Hospital Aerosmith Endowment Fund for Prevention and Treatment of AIDS and HIV Infections, awarded to Dr. Katz-Wise. Dr. Katz-Wise was also funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration (Leadership Education in Adolescent Health project 6T71-MC00009).
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Garcia Saiz, E., Sarda, V., Pletta, D.R. et al. Family Functioning as a Protective Factor for Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Gender Minority Adolescents. Arch Sex Behav 50, 3023–3033 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02079-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02079-5