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Gay, lesbian and bisexual US high school students are more likely than heterosexual students to engage in such risky behavior as smoking, drinking alcohol and carrying guns, a new report shows.

The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which surveyed 156,000 high school students and was released on Monday, is the largest of its kind by the US federal government.

"This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people," said Howell Wechsler, director of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health.

Researchers analyzed data from student surveys conducted from 2001 to 2009 in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, and also in the Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, San Diego and San Francisco school districts.

When asked if they had driven a car while drinking alcohol within the last 30 days, 15.4 percent of gay and lesbian students said they had, compared with 7.8 percent of heterosexual students.

When asked about guns, 12 percent of gay and lesbian students said they had carried a gun at least one day during the previous month, almost four times more than heterosexual students.

There also was a large disparity with cigarette smoking, with 27.8 percent of gay and lesbian students reporting they had smoked more than 10 cigarettes in a day during the previous month, compared with 9.1 percent of heterosexual students.

Gay and lesbian students were also much more likely to have seriously contemplated suicide. Nearly 30 percent of those students said they had considered suicide, compared with 11.7 percent of heterosexual students.

The study results quantify what advocates say they have long known anecdotally.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual youths are often driven to risky behavior because they are rejected by their families and other support groups, said Laura McGinnis, spokeswoman for the Trevor Project, a national organization that provides crisis counseling and suicide prevention programs for youths.

She said the new data should help increase the awareness of policymakers and lead to more training for school staff members.

Wechsler said efforts to promote adolescent health and safety should take into account the "additional stressors these youth experience because of their sexual orientation, such as stigma, discrimination, and victimization."

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.