HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE: Understanding actual and perceived aggressive behavior among sexually and gender diverse adolescents

Within a minority stress framework, research on mental health disparities between sexual and gender minority youth and their heterosexual cisgender peers has typically focused on internalizing problems such as depressive symptoms, as well as alcohol use, suicidality, and eating disorders. Behavioral problems characterized by aggression including conduct problems and other externalizing behavior disorders have often been overlooked. This chapter presents potential ways for understanding aggressive behavior disorders among sexual and gender minority youth. First, we describe the existing, but limited, research literature. Then, we discuss two different pathways that may explain the links between sexual and gender minority status and aggressive behavior disorders: (1) From a traditional minority stress perspective, many general factors (i.e., peer victimization, parental rejection) that explain vulnerability to poorer mental health outcomes among sexual and gender minority may increase risk for aggressive behavior disorders and (2) stereotypes associated with sexual and gender minority identities may increase perceptions that sexual and gender minority youth are aggressive, with potential consequences for how their behaviors are interpreted. Finally, we explore the practical implications of these pathways.