A Closer Look at the Psychosocial Realities of LGBTQ Youth

* Abbreviation: LGBTQ — : lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning This month’s issue of Pediatrics features studies from Baams1 and Becerra-Culqui et al,2 in which they contribute to the ever-growing body of literature that characterizes psychosocial disparities faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ), and gender nonconforming youth. Authors of several studies have previously described the psychosocial realities of these youth that include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, nonsuicidal self-injury, suicidality, homelessness, and substance use.3–5 However, in 2 studies in this issue, both with the strength of describing large population-based samples, authors confirm the dismal psychosocial disparities experienced by these youth and provide novel information that should embolden health care providers to better identify such youth in their practices, assess risk factors, and offer support options that may not only promote resilience but may also be lifesaving. There has been growing evidence in which stress associated with cumulative adverse childhood … Address correspondence to Stanley Ray Vance Jr, MD, Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California St, Suite 245, Box 0503, San Francisco, CA 94143. E-mail: stanley.vance{at}ucsf.edu