A report of the Task Force on Youth Suicide of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service suggested that gay and lesbian youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. This finding has not only been confirmed but also exceeded in the results of subsequent research studies. Investigators have found that 27% to 42% of gay, lesbian and bisexual youths have attempted suicide. These findings are disproportionately higher than the lifetime suicide attempt rates in studies of high school students, which range from 6% to 10%. This session will focus on findings of relationships between suicide attempts and sexual orientation from extensive interviews conducted with 300 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. Initial findings from this federally-funded project indicate that approximately 30% of the youth have attempted suicide. Of these, 19% had a strong wish to die, and 28% had a moderate wish. Analyses revealed that those who attempted suicide significantly differed from those who did not in that they reported more homonegativism, indicated lower self-esteem, experienced higher percentages of being verbally harassed and physically attacked because of their sexual orientation, indicated greater fear for their safety at school, and reported more posttraumatic stress symptoms. Additional relationships will be reported, and differences between males and females will be described during the presentation.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentations, participants should be able to: 1) understand differences between those lesbian, gay and bisexual youth who attempt suicide and those who do not; 2) identify some of the relationships between suicide attempts and sexual orientation among lesbian, gay and bisexual youths; 3) know the factors that distinguish suicide attempts among gay and bisexual youth from those among lesbian and bisexual youth.
Keywords: Suicide, Youth
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.