With respect to individuals who identify as a sexual minority, our findings are similar to other studies which found a higher prevalence of adverse events among gay and bisexual individuals [36]. Though theories about why sexual minorities have higher ACEs have been postulated, such as certain types of abuse may catalyze shifts in sexual orientation or that sexual minorities may be more likely to recognize, and thus report, adverse events [36], the association of higher ACEs and sexual minorities remains unclear. Lastly, individuals who identified as multiracial had higher frequencies of ACEs than other races/ethnicities, though it should be noted that the frequencies in certain categories mirrored the frequencies of Black and/or Hispanic individuals. This aligns with other research highlighting that social and structural factors elevate the risk of childhood adversity, and that identifying as a racial/ethnic minority creates unique family stress that catalyzes adverse events [11, 37].
