Gay Teens Punished More Harshly: Study

Gay youth receive harsher punishments at school and with the law than straight teens, according to a new study. The Yale University analysis, published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, found that “consistently, gay and bisexual youth were at a greater risk of being punished by school and criminal-justice authorities than their straight peers who exhibited the same behaviors,” said study leader Kathryn Himmelstein. Along with her colleague, Hannah Bruckner, Himmelstein used a continuing national survey to analyze the sexual orientation of more than 15,170 people, relating that to various punishments and controlling for other factors, including race, gender, economic status, and misbehavior. Their study found that homosexual youth were 1.25 to three times more likely to be punished than their heterosexual peers, and “youth who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual actually engaged in less violence, which is the most serious type of misbehavior,” said Himmelstein.