Importance Homophobic bullying-which is motivated by actual or perceived sexual orientation-is a common experience among youth and is more strongly associated with adverse outcomes than bullying unrelated to bias. Yet current approaches to reducing homophobic bullying either lack empirical evidence or encounter significant obstacles. Thus, the field requires the identification of strategies that hold promise for reducing homophobic bullying. Objective To examine whether litigation is associated with reductions in homophobic bullying. Design, Setting, and Participants In this quasi-experimental study, difference-in-difference analysis was used to estimate the association between litigation and homophobic bullying, comparing students in schools that experienced litigation with students in schools that did not experience litigation, controlling for individual and school characteristics, study year, and county. Survey responses came from high school students from 499 schools participating in the California Healthy Kids Survey, the largest statewide survey of youth risk behaviors and protective factors, between 2001 and 2016. Legal data were collected from September 2018 to September 2019, and data were analyzed from February 2020 to April 2021. Exposures Outcomes of litigation related to sexual orientation-based harassment and discrimination in California schools occurring after 2000. Main Outcomes and Measures Student reports of homophobic bullying. Results Of 1 448 778 included participants, 706 258 (48.7%) were male, 563 973 (38.9%) were White, and the mean (SD) age was 14.6 (1.7) years. For cases where the plaintiff (student) secured monetary and/or injunctive relief through settlement or court decision, there was a 23% reduction in the ratio of odds ratios (ROR) of homophobic bullying in schools directly involved in the litigation relative to schools that did not experience litigation (ROR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.68-0.86). These benefits of litigation spilled over into schools in the same district as the schools experiencing litigation (ROR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.70-0.81). However, homophobic bullying slightly increased in the school and district where the defendant (school) avoided adverse legal consequences, suggesting potential backlash. Conclusions and Relevance Litigation seeking to address alleged violations of the rights of students who are (or are perceived to be) lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender under laws prohibiting harassment or discrimination may lead to reductions in rates of homophobic bullying, with effect sizes comparable with that of resource-intensive school-based bullying interventions. These findings set the stage for future studies to evaluate the consequences of different litigation efforts aimed at redressing stigma-based harms among youth.

中文翻译：

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评估诉讼作为解决青少年中基于偏见的欺凌行为的结构性策略。

重要性 恐同欺凌 - 由实际或感知的性取向引起 - 是年轻人的常见经历，并且与不良结果的关联比与偏见无关的欺凌更为强烈。然而，目前减少恐同欺凌的方法要么缺乏经验证据，要么遇到重大障碍。因此，该领域需要确定有望减少恐同欺凌的策略。目的 检验诉讼是否与减少恐同欺凌有关。设计、设置和参与者 在这项准实验研究中，使用了差异分析法来估计诉讼与恐同欺凌之间的关联，将经历过诉讼的学校的学生与未经历过诉讼的学校的学生进行比较，控制个人和学校特征、学习年份和县。调查回复来自 2001 年至 2016 年间参加加州健康儿童调查的 499 所学校的高中生，该调查是全州最大规模的青少年危险行为和保护因素调查。法律数据收集于 2018 年 9 月至 2019 年 9 月，并对数据进行了分析从 2020 年 2 月到 2021 年 4 月。曝光 2000 年后加州学校发生的与基于性取向的骚扰和歧视有关的诉讼结果。主要结果和措施学生对同性恋欺凌的报告。结果 1 448 778 名参与者中，706 258 名（48.7%）为男性，563 973 名（38.9%）为白人，平均（SD）年龄为 14.6（1.7）岁。对于原告（学生）通过和解或法院判决获得金钱和/或禁令救济的案件，与直接参与诉讼的学校相比，恐同欺凌的优势比 (ROR) 降低了 23%没有经历过诉讼（ROR，0.77；95% CI，0.68-0.86）。诉讼的这些好处蔓延到与经历诉讼的学校位于同一地区的学校（ROR，0.76；95% CI，0.70-0.81）。然而，在被告（学校）避免不利法律后果的学校和地区，恐同欺凌略有增加，这表明存在潜在的反弹。结论和相关性诉讼旨在解决涉嫌侵犯（或被认为是）女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、根据禁止骚扰或歧视的法律，跨性别者可能会降低恐同欺凌的发生率，其效果大小可与资源密集型学校欺凌干预措施相媲美。这些调查结果为未来的研究奠定了基础，以评估旨在纠正青少年基于耻辱的伤害的不同诉讼努力的后果。