“In instrumental variable models, history of sexual abuse predicted increased prevalence of same-sex attraction by 2.0 percentage points, any same-sex partners by 1.4 percentage, and same-sex identity by 0.7 percentage point. Effects of sexual abuse on men’s sexual orientation were substantially larger than on women’s.” Does Maltreatment in Childhood Affect Sexual Orientation in Adulthood? Andrea L. Roberts, M. Maria Glymour, Karestan C. Koenen, Archives of Sexual Behavior, February 2013, Volume 42, Issue 2, pp 161-171. (See: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-012-0021-9)
“Compared with their heterosexual peers, gay/lesbian respondents had more than twice the odds of reporting physical, emotion, and sexual abuse. Bisexual persons had nearly three times the odds of reporting sexual abuse than heterosexual respondents. When looking at the total count of adverse childhood items, gay/lesbian and bisexual respondents had nearly 1.7 and 1.6 times the rate of adverse childhood experiences compared with their heterosexual peers…” Disparities in Adverse Childhood Experiences among Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Adults: Results from a Multi-State Probability-Based Sample Judith P Andersen, John Blosnich, published: January 23, 2013DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054691. (See: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0054691)
“Across all studies, the highest estimates reported were for lifetime sexual assault victimization of lesbian and bisexual women (85.0%), childhood sexual assault of lesbian and bisexual women (76.0%), and childhood sexual assault of gay and bisexual men (59.2%).” The Prevalence of Sexual Assault Against People Who Identify as Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual in the United States: A Systematic ReviewEmily F. Rothman, Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA. (See: http://tva.sagepub.com/content/12/2/55)
“Homosexual/bisexual men reported higher rates than heterosexual men of childhood emotional and any physical maltreatment (including major physical maltreatment) by their mother/maternal guardian and major physical maltreatment by their father/paternal guardian. In contrast, homosexual/bisexual women, as compared to heterosexual women, reported higher rates of major physical maltreatment by both their mother/maternal guardian and their father/ paternal guardian. Differences among individuals with differing sexual orientations were most pronounced for the more extreme forms of physical maltreatment.” Reports of parental maltreatment during childhood in a United States population-based survey of homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual adults Heather L Corlissa, Susan D Cochrana, Child Abuse & Neglect Volume 26, Issue 11, November 2002, Pages 1165–1178. (See: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014521340200385X)
“Sexual minority individuals were on average 3.8, 1.2, 1.7, and 2.4 times more likely to experience sexual abuse, parental physical abuse, or assault at school or to miss school through fear, respectively.” A Meta-Analysis of Disparities in Childhood Sexual Abuse, Parental Physical Abuse, and Peer Victimization Among Sexual Minority and Sexual Nonminority Individuals Mark S. Friedman, PhD, MSW, MPA, et al., American Journal of Public Health, August 2011. (See: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2009.190009)