Substance Use Patterns and Consequences Among Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals

Abstract

Substance abuse among gays and lesbians may be considered a “neglected area” of drug use research in criminology and criminal justice. In the current study, we seek to address the lack of scientific inquiry on substance use among lesbians, gays, and bisexuals by drawing from an availability sample of 179 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults to examine substance use patterns as well as the relationship of self-esteem with problems associated with using alcohol and drugs. Results showed consistency in the frequency of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use in the past year; however, more gay and bisexual men than gay and bisexual women reported problems stemming from substance use.

KEYWORDS:

• Atlanta gay pride
• drug use
• self-esteem
• substance abuse

Notes

∗Bivariate tests of association revealed a statistically significantly greater proportion of lesbian/bi women than gay/bi men who reported being in an intimate relationship (i.e, χ² = 22.86, p < .001) and having children living in the household (χ² = 7.03, p < .001).

∗Independent samples t tests revealed significantly different mean scores between lesbian/bi women and gay/bi men for the SIP-AD and its subscales: Factor 1, t = −2.96, p < .01; Factor 2, t = −2.25, p < .05; Factor 3, t = −2.77, p < .01; and t = −2.70, p < .01 for the full scale.

∗p < .05

∗∗p < .01

∗∗∗p < .001.