Mental health disparities between heterosexuals and sexual minorities are present early in adolescence and increase throughout the school years, persisting to young adulthood. Prevention of these mental health problems and early intervention must be a priority. There are few population-based cohort studies on the emergence, development, and persistence of mental health problems in sexual minorities compared with heterosexuals. This study compared trajectories of depressive symptoms in sexual-minority adolescents and heterosexual adolescents from when they were aged 10 years to 21 years, and examined self-harm at ages 16 years and 21 years.
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