Traumatic Experiences and Drug Use by LGB Adolescents: A Critical Review of Minority Stress: Jeremy Goldbach, Benjamin W. Fisher, and Shannon Dunlap

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents report significantly higher rates of drug use when compared to their heterosexual counterparts (Marshal et al., 2008; Moon, Fornili, & O’Briant, 2007; Remafedi, 1987), including use of marijuana and other illicit substances (Bontempo & D’Augelli, 2002; Corliss et al., 2010; Russell, Driscoll, & Truong, 2002). LGB adolescents are more likely to engage in polydrug use and report both higher rates of early drug use and a more rapidly increasing trajectory of use into adulthood when compared to their heterosexual peers (Garofalo, Wolf, Kessel, Palfrey, & DuRant, 1998; Marshal, Friedman, Stall, & Thompson, 2009).