Title: Relationships Between Suicide Attempts and Sexual Orientation Among Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youths
1Relationships Between Suicide Attempts and Sexual
Orientation Among Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual
Youths
- Arnold H. Grossman, PhD, MSW
- New York University
- Anthony R. DAugelli, PhD
- Penn State University
- Daniel E. Bontempo, M.A.
- Penn State University
- APHA Convention, Boston, MA
- October 24, 2001
- Research supported by grant MH58155 from National
Institute of Mental Health
2The Q Project An Overview
- investigating the mental health consequences of
victimization in a large sample (500) lgb youths - obtaining a diverse (e.g., SES, ethnicity) sample
of youths from community-based organizations - using a longitudinal design, each youth is being
interviewed 3 times over a two-year period - measuring different forms of victimization (e.g.,
sexual orientation, ethnic identity) - measuring resilience (e.g., support, coping)
- making a direct linkage of sexual identity issues
to mental health outcomes
3Goals
- to determine the kinds of victimization
experienced by lgb youth ages 15 to 21 - to determine the frequency of mental health
problems among lgb youth - to examine the relationship between verbal
harassment and physical violence on mental health
problems of lgb youth - to identify characteristics of youth who cope
successfully with victimization from those who
show mental health problems - to identify characteristics of lgb youths that
predict suicidal thinking and suicide attempts
4Research Sites
- selecting sites 1 urban and 2 suburban agencies
providing services to lgb youth - developing partnerships with agencies
- learning culture of agencies
- learning experiences of agencies with previous
research collaborations, i.e., resulting likes
and dislikes
5Recruiting Youth
- first wave self-identified lgb youth, 15-19,
commitment to three interviews - monetary incentives for 3-hour structured
interviews - drop-in/lounge programs and special events
- snowball and respondent-driven sampling using
youths networks - appointment cards and reminder calls
6Protecting Youth
- waiving of parental consent
- creating role of Youth Advocate
- obtaining federal certificate of confidentiality
- developing protocols for addressing mental health
crises and referring youth - developing protocols for reporting abuse and
neglect and referring youth - establishing a toll free telephone number
- separating youths identity from research data
7Protecting Youth (continued)
- recruiting masters-level clinicians
(certification/license preferred) with previous
experience with adolescents (lgb preferred) - assigning same interviewers (when possible) for
all 3 interviews
8Tracking and Retaining Youth
- tracking information
- check-in system and raffle every 3 months
- awarding prizes at youths programs
- Youth Coordinators Project Aides roles
- Youth Advocates role
9Assessment of Suicidality
- Past and present ideation
- Relationship of ideation to sexual orientation
- Past suicide attempts (, relationship to S.O)
- Clinician judgment of severity of attempt
- Suicidal ideation in the last year
10Differences between Suicide Attempters and
Non-attempters
- Demographic characteristics
- Sexual orientation development milestones
- Self-esteem (Rosenberg)
- Internalized homophobia (Shidlo)
- Mental health symptoms
- General (Brief Symptom Inventory)
- Trauma-related (Trauma Checklist 40)
- Psychological Physical Maltreatment Scale
11Differences between Suicide Attempters and
Non-attempters
- Victimization History
- Sexual-Orientation Related
- Verbal Victimization (abuse, threats)
- Physical Victimization (hit, punched)
- Sexual Victimization (assault, rape)
12This presentation is based on Wave 1 interviews
the first 361 youths (187 males and 174
females)Data collected from June 1999 to March
200132 reported suicide attempts39 of
females and 26 of males
13Suicide Attempt Patterns
- More females than males have sometimes or often
thought about suicide in their lives (28 vs.
19) - More males than females lifetime suicidal
ideation relates to sexual orientation (23 vs.
4) - More females (39) than males (26) make attempts
- Of the attempters, 25 make potentially lethal
attempts 29 make serious life-threatening
attempts
14Suicide Attempt Patterns
- One sexual orientation milestone difference
Attempters were called sissy/tomboy at earlier
ages - Attempters reported significantly more
psychological and physical abuse as children from
the person who raised them (highly significant
differences) - Attempters have heard more negative comments
about being lgbt from family based on religious
views
15Mental Health DifferencesAttempters
- Had lower self-esteem
- Reported less personal mastery
- Reported more perceived stress in their lives
- Had higher overall symptomatology (BSI)
- Had higher trauma symptom scores (TSC 40)
- Did NOT use more drugs of any kind
- Had higher personal homonegativity scores
16Mental Health DifferencesAttempters
- Reported more overall fears that led to their
hiding their sexual orientation - Reported more fears related to being in school
- Reported more fears of rejection and abuse from
parents and siblings at home - Reported higher overall levels of verbal abuse
based on their sexual orientation - Reported higher percentages of posttraumatic
stress disorder
17Victimization Differences
- More physical abuse reported by attempters (55)
vs. non-attempters (36) - More overall sexual abuse reported by attempters
(51) vs. non-attempters (24) - Attempters reported more physical abuse based on
sexual orientation (15) than non-attempters (8) - Attempters reported more sexual abuse based on
their sexual orientation (13) vs. non-attempters
(4)
18Suicidality Issues
- Attempters report more lifetime suicidal ideation
- No differences were found between attempters and
non-attempters in the degree to which their
suicidal ideation was about their SO - Within the last year, 15 of the females reported
suicidal ideation compared to 13 of the males - Within the last year, 15 of the males reported
suicidal ideation related to their SO compared to
6 of the females
19Past Mental Health Services
- More attempters (86) than non-attempters (69)
have ever talked to a professional about personal
problems related to suicidal ideation or attempts - More attempters (32) than non-attempters (11)
had been in psychiatric hospitals for suicidal
ideation or attempts
20Research Limitations
- Convenience sample in a greater metropolitan area
- Self-reported data
- Youth self-identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual
- Youth had access to and attended agencies
providing services to lesbian, gay and bisexual
adolescents and young adults - Cross-sectional data from the first Wave of a
longitudinal study