title: Estimating population size and demographic characteristics of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in middle school.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the size and demographic characteristics of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth populations using data from the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) administered in San Francisco Unified School District middle schools.
  
  
  METHODS
  The YRBS was administered to a stratified random sample of 2,730 youth (grades 6-8) across all 22 public middle schools in San Francisco. Cross-tabulations using complex samples analyses were used to derive population estimates and confidence intervals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results show that 3.8% of middle school students identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and 1.3% of middle school students identify as transgender. To improve our understanding of the size of these populations across the nation, researchers conclude it is imperative that all YRBS administration sites include items on sexual orientation and gender identity as they would any other demographic item, such as race/ethnicity, sex, or age. The current lack of reliable data on the size and characteristics of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth population limits the capacity of policy makers, administrators, and practitioners to address their needs.
authors: Education, Training and Research Associates, Research Department, San Francisco, California 94103, USA. johns@etr.org
authors: John P
authors: JP
authors: Shields
authors: Rebekah
authors: R
authors: Cohen
authors: Jill R
authors: JR
authors: Glassman
authors: Kelly
authors: K
authors: Whitaker
authors: Heather
authors: H
authors: Franks
authors: Ilsa
authors: I
authors: Bertolini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011156:Population Density; D012495:San Francisco / Q000453:epidemiology; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014189:Transsexualism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology