Research on intersectional differences among sexual minority youth (SMY) relies on population-level datasets to ensure sufficiently large samples to explore between-group differences and assess the influence of axes of oppression/privilege. I argue that a structural equation modeling framework for investigating intersectional differences among SMY increases the nuance with which we understand heterogeneity and provides tools for ensuring that variables measure comparable constructs across diverse populations - an assumption of traditional univariate methods that is rarely empirically verified. Using a subset of SMY that identified as either White or Hispanic/Latino and male or female from the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (N = 3,654), this study tested invariance of three latent constructs: psychological distress, substance use, and adult support across sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, sex, and three-way intersections of those identities. Analyses established invariance across race/ethnicity and sex of all constructs among gay/lesbian youth. Partial invariance models were required to account for intersectional differences in substance use among bisexual youth and in psychological distress among questioning youth. This study models a novel strategy for examining how social location at the intersection of multiple axes of oppression/privilege shape behavioral health and social support and paves the way for significant advances in research on SMY.

中文翻译：

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性少数青少年跨种族/民族和性别的心理困扰、药物使用和成人社会支持的测量不变性。

对性少数青少年（SMY）交叉差异的研究依赖于人口水平的数据集，以确保有足够大的样本来探索群体间差异并评估压迫/特权轴的影响。我认为，用于研究 SMY 之间交叉差异的结构方程模型框架增加了我们理解异质性的细微差别，并提供了确保变量衡量不同人群之间可比较结构的工具 - 这是传统单变量方法的假设，但很少得到经验验证。本研究使用新墨西哥州青年风险和弹性调查 (N = 3,654) 中确定为白人或西班牙裔/拉丁裔以及男性或女性的 SMY 子集，测试了三种潜在结构的不变性：心理困扰、物质使用、以及跨越性取向、种族/民族、性别以及这些身份的三向交叉点的成人支持。分析男女同性恋青年中所有构造的跨种族/族裔和性别的既定不变性。需要部分不变模型来解释双性恋青少年物质使用和质疑青少年心理困扰的交叉差异。这项研究模拟了一种新颖的策略，用于研究压迫/特权多个轴交叉点的社会位置如何塑造行为健康和社会支持，并为 SMY 研究的重大进展铺平道路。需要部分不变模型来解释双性恋青少年物质使用和质疑青少年心理困扰的交叉差异。这项研究模拟了一种新颖的策略，用于研究压迫/特权多个轴交叉点的社会位置如何塑造行为健康和社会支持，并为 SMY 研究的重大进展铺平道路。需要部分不变模型来解释双性恋青少年物质使用和质疑青少年心理困扰的交叉差异。这项研究模拟了一种新颖的策略，用于研究压迫/特权多个轴交叉点的社会位置如何塑造行为健康和社会支持，并为 SMY 研究的重大进展铺平道路。