Risk of Dating Violence Among Sexually Minoritized Relative to Heterosexual Young People in School- and Community-Based Samples: Meta-Analysis

Dating violence (DV) among adolescents and young adults is a prevalent public health concern. Research to date has largely focused on heterosexual young people, resulting in the marginalization of the experiences of sexually minoritized young people. We thus sought to assess sexually minoritized young people's risk of experiencing past-year physical, sexual, and psychological DV victimization, both as a group and relative to their heterosexual peers, using meta-analytic techniques. We first conducted a pre-registered systematic review. To be included, literature had to be peer-reviewed, be published between 2000 and 2023, and report the past year prevalence of DV victimization among school- and community-based samples of sexually minoritized and heterosexual young people (ages 10-25). With the 17 papers that met criteria, we conducted meta-analyses of prevalence proportions and risk ratios to determine the prevalence of these types of DV among sexually minoritized young people, heterosexual young people, and the relative risk comparing the groups. Our findings suggest that sexually minoritized young people were over twice as likely to face physical (RR = 2.22; 95% CI [1.93, 2.54]) and sexual (RR = 2.26 [1.97, 2.58]) DV victimization than their heterosexual peers. Results for increased risk of psychological DV victimization were mixed. This study demonstrates that sexually minoritized young people face a substantial risk of DV victimization. Strengths-based prevention efforts inclusive of sexually minoritized young people are needed, as well as research outside of the Global North.