Evaluation of State-Level Sexual and Gender Minority Laws for the Primary Prevention of Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in the U.S.

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth (including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people ages 13- 18 years), a population growing in public health visibility, experience disproportionately high risk for sexual and intimate partner violence (SV/IPV), with worse SV/IPV-related health outcomes (e.g., poor physical and mental health, suicidality) than their non-SGM counterparts across the life course. Racial/ethnic minority SGM face even greater risk for SV/IPV. Alarmingly few evidence-based SV/IPV prevention approaches address inequities in risk among SGM youth, with even fewer targeting upstream, social determinants of SGM health. In the U.S., two major social determinants of SV/IPV among SGM youth are state-level anti-SGM policies (e.g., bans on transgender healthcare, SGM gag laws) and social climates (i.e., societal-level stigma based on social norms and social conditions) that create and sustain the marginalization of SGM identities. Since 2021, there has been a rapid acceleration in the use of policy to restrict the rights of SGM people, with 170 anti-SGM laws adopted in the U.S., creating an urgent need to better understand the impact of these laws on SGM health. In contrast, SGM-affirming laws (e.g., SGM anti-discrimination, gender-inclusive facilities, SGM parental rights laws) increase equity in rights and access, reducing SGM vulnerability to SV/IPV. Moreover, social climates with low SGM stigma have high potential for buffering harmful effects of anti-SGM laws and amplifying the benefits of SGM-affirming laws on risk of SV/IPV among SGM youth, yet this interaction has not been studied. As such, the overarching goal of this research is to rigorously evaluate the causal effect of recently adopted state-level SGM laws (anti-SGM and SGM-affirming) as a primary prevention approach for SV/IPV among SGM youth and to understand the buffering or amplifying effects of SGM-related social climates. To do this, we will conduct a mixed- method quasi-experimental evaluation on the effects of SGM state-level laws passed between 2021-2025 on SV/IPV among SGM youth utilizing a difference-in-differences approach, state-representative outcome data from the Youth Behavioral Risk Survey System, and qualitative interviews with state-level providers to clarify potential mechanisms for effects. The aims of the proposed research are: 1) To estimate the causal effect of state-level SGM law adoption (anti-SGM and SGM-affirming) between 2021-2025 on risk for SV/IPV victimization among SGM youth, including racial/ethnic minority SGM youth, in the U.S.; 2) To evaluate whether the effect of state- level SGM laws on SV/IPV among SGM youth differs based on state-level social climates regarding SGM stigma; and 3) To qualitatively explore mechanisms through which state-level SGM policies and social climate impact SV/IPV among SGM youth across three states with high, medium, and low adoption of SGM-affirming laws. This research will provide critical evidence on the extent to which state-level policy interventions targeting social determinants of SV/IPV provide population-level benefit across multiple violence outcomes.