A new study on teen dating violence has found that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teenagers are at much greater risk of dating abuse than their heterosexual counterparts. Transgender teens are especially vulnerable. 

Analyzing data from their larger study, “Technology, Teen Dating Violence and Abuse, and Bullying,” researchers at the Urban Institute provide one of the first examinations of dating violence and abuse through the distinct lens of sexual orientation and gender identity. Of the 3,745 youth in 7th to 12th grades, in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey surveyed in the study, six percent identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Of the LGBT respondents:

• 43 percent reported being victims of physical dating violence, compared to 29 percent of heterosexual youth.
• 59 percent reported emotional abuse, compared to 46 percent of heterosexual youth.
• 37 percent reported digital abuse and harassment, compared to 26 percent of heterosexual youth.
• 23 percent reported sexual coercion, compared to 12 percent of heterosexual youth.

Read the full study “Technology, Teen Dating Violence and Abuse, and Bullying.”