The Relationship Between the Family Environment and Community Context on LGBTQ+ Youth’s Disordered Eating Behaviors

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth experience disparate rates of disordered eating behaviors (DEB; purging, restricting food intake, and binge eating) compared with cisgender and/or heterosexual youth. Yet we have limited data examining the mechanisms that contribute to DEB among LGBTQ+ youth. This study examined associations among family acceptance and rejection and community context (acceptance, support, involvement, and bullying) on LGBTQ+ youth DEB, using data from the LGBTQ National Teen Survey ( N = 7,901) collected in 2017. Findings indicate that DEB for weight control and binge-eating DEB were positively related to family rejection and LGBTQ+-based bullying and negatively related to LGBTQ+ community acceptance and support. Findings from this study have implications for individual-, family-, and community-level interventions to support LGBTQ+ youth.