LGBTQ kids face a unique host of challenges, especially when compared to their straight counterparts. One of the biggest issues is over 1.6 million LGBT teens in America saying they have been homeless at some point. (This sobering statistic prompted openly queer singer Miley Cyrus to launch her Happy Hippie Foundation in 2014.) New research is illustrating there are gender-based hurdles LGBTQ teens face too. Young queer girls are more likely to get expelled from school, a Princeton sociologist has found in a new study. Dr. Joel Mittleman’s results show queer girls have a 95% greater risk of receiving disciplinary measures than queer boys do.
The findings come from a ongoing population study tracking the lives of 3,400 children born in the US between 1998 and 2000. Titled “The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study,” it is one of the few to look at sexual minority students. From the findings, Mittleman found only 38% of the queer girls’ discipline rates could be explained by parent-reported behavioral issues. Which leaves the rest unexplained, prompting Mittleman to believe that discrimination plays a big factor in the disparity.
“The results suggest that sexual orientation itself may shape teens’ experiences in very different ways for girls versus boys,” Dr. Joel Mittleman said in a statement. “My results are consistent, for example, with recent research showing that sexual minority girls are dramatically overrepresented in the juvenile justice system in a way that sexual minority boys are not.”
You can read Dr. Mittleman’s full findings here.