LGBT POV

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away – a happy day commemorating romance, whether you’re married, in a relationship or not. But for some LGBTs, it is a day of darkness, a day when society shames and ridicules same sex attraction, a day when thoughts of suicide become more real.

As it turns out, same sex attraction is not as difficult to deal with as is gay identity, according to a new study by a group of researchers at McGill University, the first separating sexual identity from sexual behaviors looking at poor or at risk mental health outcomes. The report is in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, which is not yet online.

A news report on the study in Medical News Today says that the researches questioned nearly 1,900 students in 14 Montreal-area high schools and found that

those teens who self-identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual, or who were unsure of their sexual identity, were indeed at higher risk for suicidal ideation and attempts. However, teens who had same-sex attractions or sexual experiences – but thought of themselves as heterosexual – were at no greater risk than the population at large. Perhaps surprisingly, but consistent with previous studies, the majority of teens with same-sex sexual attraction or experience considered themselves to be heterosexual.

[snip]

“The main message is that it’s the interface between individuals and society that causes students who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual the most distress,” said study first author Yue Zhao, a McGill University graduate student working with [author Dr. Brett Thombs, of the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI) at the Jewish General Hospital]. “Sexual orientation has three different components. The first is identity, which is dependent on the society in which one lives; the second is attraction or fantasy; and the third is behaviour. [sic] Previous studies have not addressed which of those components may explain why GLB youth are at risk.”

“What this all means is that clinicians need to look not just at individuals and their sexuality, they really need to assess the environment they are coming from and how they see themselves within it,” said study co-author Dr. Karine Igartua.”

The study also calls for more research into “the link between anti-gay sentiment and suicidality.” The news report did not mention whether the teens were questioned about gender identity or HIV status.

Charles Robbins, executive director and CEO of  The Trevor Project says:

“Although this study was conducted in Canada, where school policies, environmental stressors and sociopolitical attitudes are different than they are in the United States, it is still not surprising given that statistically, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

However, it is nonetheless important to note that sometimes a youth merely being perceived as LGBTQ – whether or not they self-identify as such – can create a stigma that victimizes them to these increased risk factors as well.”

For any LGBT or questioning youth looking for someone to talk to – please call the free, confidential, 24/7 Trevor Project Helpline at 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (in the US).   Or find them on Facebook here – http://www.facebook.com/TheTrevorProject.