Gay and bisexual adolescents in U.S. schools are twice as likely to be bullied as their heterosexual peers, which could hinder development. That’s according to a recent study by the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health. A total of 1,870 students were surveyed. Of those, 127 students identified themselves as being either gay or bisexual, and of those students, 24 percent reported being victims of bullying. Only 12 percent of heterosexual students reported the same. The survey evaluated positive youth development using a model called the “Five Cs,” which stands for competence, confidence, connection, character and compassion, according to Robert Coulter, a Pitt doctoral student and the study’s lead author. Sexual-minority students scored much lower than heterosexual students in the competence, confidence and connection categories, which Coulter attributed to the effects of bullying. “Our analyses suggest that lower positive youth development, in and among sexual
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