Study: Gay teens punished more severely than heterosexual peers

By Staff Writer

A recent Yale University study suggests that gay teenagers are punished more harshly at school and in court than straight teens who engage in similar behavior.

The study, which is published in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics, reveals that an adolescent's sexual orientation can impact how an individual is treated by authority figures, according to HealthDay. Yale officials surveyed more than 15,000 teenagers and asked them about their race, gender, economic status, sexual orientation and misbehavior.

The participants were questioned in the mid-1990s, when they were in grades seven through 12, and then again between 2000 and 2002, when they were between the ages of 18 and 26.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals were up to three times more likely to be punished than their heterosexual peers who engaged in the same level of misbehavior, the study revealed. In addition, participants who identified themselves as non-heterosexual were less likely to engage in violent behavior.

The study's authors said that their research found no conclusive reason why gay youth were being punished more severely, but they speculated that some authorities may be less likely to consider mitigating factors, such as self-defense for a non-heterosexual than for a heterosexual.

According to a the Health Resources and Services Administration's Stop Bullying Now website, approximately 90 percent of students who identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered had been bullied within the last year.