Lesbian adolescents are likely to have higher body esteem than other adolescent females, according to research presented yesterday at a meeting of the Coalition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Graduate Students.

Katerina Sinclair (graduate-human development and family studies) presented her research last evening on body esteem perceptions among lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescents.

The information was pulled from a study called "Challenges and Coping: The Q & A Project," conducted from 1999 to 2003 with 528 lesbian, gay and bisexual 15-to-19-year-olds in New York City. Anthony D'Augelli, Penn State professor of health and human development, collaborated with an NYU professor to conduct the study.

Sinclair said this was the largest study of gay and lesbian youths. "This is the most information we've ever had," she said. "I will analyze this data for an extremely long time."

Of these adolescents, 489 were included in the results for the study on body image.

Lesbian adolescents were found to have a higher body image than bisexual women, with the assumption being that straight women would have the lowest body image, Sinclair said. Sinclair said she found the order of sexual orientation in relation to body esteem is flipped when it comes to men. Gay male adolescents were found to be more likely to have a lower body image than bisexual men, with the assumption being that bisexual men have a lower body image than straight men, she said.

While the data is influenced by several personal factors, Sinclair said, sexual orientation plays a role in the differences.

"Even when you account for self esteem, body mass index and depression, there's still an effect," Sinclair said of the research. "There's something going on in the community that we need to start thinking about."

However, women overall tended to have a lower body image than men overall -- meaning that bisexual males tended to have a higher body image than lesbian females.

"It's great work," Matthew Callahan (graduate-psychology), who was at the meeting, said of the research.

Callahan said differences in sexual orientation are often overlooked in psychological studies.

"This is stuff that really needs to get out," he said.