Psychological distress mediates the link between bullying and truancy in Australian LGBQ+ adolescents with experiences of homelessness
Journal article
Lim, Gene, Melendez-Torres, G. J., Amos, Natalie, Anderson, Joel, Norman, Thomas, Power, Jennifer, Jones, Jami and Bourne, Adam. (2025). Psychological distress mediates the link between bullying and truancy in Australian LGBQ+ adolescents with experiences of homelessness. Psychology and Sexuality. 16(1), pp. 42-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2024.2345695
Authors | Lim, Gene, Melendez-Torres, G. J., Amos, Natalie, Anderson, Joel, Norman, Thomas, Power, Jennifer, Jones, Jami and Bourne, Adam |
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Abstract | Homelessness is a high prevalence experience among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ+) youth, and potentiates both significant morbidity and future homelessness. While educational attainment is cited as a structural solution to homelessness, limited research exists on homeless LGBQ+ youths’ schooling experiences. A nationwide, cross-sectional survey involving 4,370 cisgender LGBQ+ participants aged 14–21 was conducted to address this gap. Regression analyses showed previous homelessness was associated with an increased odds of verbal, physical and sexual bullying and harassment within school contexts. Mediation analyses confirmed the mediating role of psychological distress on the associations between physical and sexual harassment and truancy, regardless of past homelessness. Previous experiences of homelessness are not associated with increased distress in relation to bullying or harassment. However, the indirect effect of harassment on truancy was significantly more pronounced for youth with past homelessness. Our findings crucially suggest that bullying presents both direct and indirect structural risks to cisgender LGBQ+ youth, and is particularly inconducive to continued engagement with schooling for youth with experiences of homelessness. Interventions aiming to address truancy among this group should aim to reduce the incidence of bullying within educational settings, whilst also providing assistance for managing the challenges associated with experiencing homelessness. |
Keywords | LGBTQ+; young people; adolescents; truancy; homelessness; bullying; Australia |
Year | 2025 |
Journal | Psychology and Sexuality |
Journal citation | 16 (1), pp. 42-56 |
Publisher | Routledge |
ISSN | 1941-9899 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2024.2345695 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-105001962747 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Page range | 42-56 |
Funder | Department of Premier and Cabinet, Victorian Government |
Office for LGBTIQ+ Affairs, Australian Capital Territory Government | |
Department of Health, New South Wales | |
Office of the Chief Psychiatrist, Government of South Australia | |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 03 May 2024 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 10 Apr 2024 |
Deposited | 28 May 2025 |
Additional information | © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/91x8w/psychological-distress-mediates-the-link-between-bullying-and-truancy-in-australian-lgbq-adolescents-with-experiences-of-homelessness
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Publisher's version
OA_Lim_2025_Psychological_distress_mediates_the_link_between.pdf | |
License: CC BY 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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