Investigating the impacts of COVID-19 among LGBTQ2S youth experiencing homelessness

LGBTQ2S youth are overrepresented among youth experiencing homelessness and experience significantly higher rates of mental health issues compared to heterosexual and cisgender youth. COVID-19 related challenges for LGBTQ2S youth experiencing homelessness remain unknown. To address this gap, this st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one Vol. 16; no. 9; p. e0257693
Main Authors: Abramovich, Alex, Pang, Nelson, Moss, Amanda, Logie, Carmen H., Chaiton, Michael, Kidd, Sean A., Hamilton, Hayley A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Public Library of Science 21.09.2021
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:
Addictions
Adolescent
Adolescents
Alcohol use
Anxiety
At risk populations
Biology and Life Sciences
Cisgender
Clinical outcomes
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - psychology
Data collection
Demography
Drug use
Earth Sciences
Epidemics
Families & family life
Female
Gay teenagers
Gay youth
Grammatical aspect
Health aspects
Health services
Health services utilization
Health status
Heterosexuality
Homeless people
Homeless youth
Homeless Youth - psychology
Homelessness
Humans
Ill-Housed Persons - psychology
Ill-Housed Persons - statistics & numerical data
Interviews
LGBTQ people
Male
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental Health
Mental health services
Ontario
Ontario - epidemiology
Pandemics
Peer tutoring
Polls & surveys
Public health
Qualitative analysis
Questionnaires
SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification
Self destructive behavior
Sexual and Gender Minorities - psychology
Sexual minorities
Social aspects
Social interactions
Social Sciences
Social support
Statistical analysis
Statistical tests
Statistics
Substance abuse
Substance use
Suicidal behavior
Suicide
Support services
Surveys
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
Youth
Ontario
Toronto Ontario Canada
Canada
United States > US
ISSN:1932-6203, 1932-6203
Online Access:Get full text
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Description
Summary:LGBTQ2S youth are overrepresented among youth experiencing homelessness and experience significantly higher rates of mental health issues compared to heterosexual and cisgender youth. COVID-19 related challenges for LGBTQ2S youth experiencing homelessness remain unknown. To address this gap, this study aimed to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBTQ2S youth at risk of, and experiencing, homelessness in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada and surrounding areas. Utilizing a mixed-methods convergent parallel design, LGBTQ2S youth experiencing homelessness were recruited to participate in virtual surveys and in-depth one-on-one interviews. Surveys included standardized measures and were administered to measure mental health outcomes and collect information on demographic characteristics, and health service use. Survey data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and statistical tests for difference of proportions. Interviews were analyzed using an iterative thematic content approach. Sixty-one youth completed surveys and 20 youth participated in one-on-one interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data showed that youth have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways, including experiencing poor mental health, such as suicidality, depression, anxiety, and increased substance use, and lack of access to health and social support services. Our study highlights the need for LGBTQ2S inclusive and affirming health care and support services for precariously housed adolescents to address the pre-existing social and health issues that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
These authors also contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0257693