Combating LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide with Acceptance | A YAC Student Blog
Selis Tufekci
As an LGBTQ+ person, acceptance has always been a big deal to me. First, it was my best friend: What would she say if she knew? Would she still be friends with me or was this a dealbreaker? Then it was my family: Will they treat me the same? Am I allowed to tell my Muslim Grandma? Fortunately, my friends and family were accepting. However, had they ignored or rejected me, the impact would have been extremely negative for my mental health. Lack of support for the identities of LGBTQ+ youth is one of many reasons that they are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than non-queer youth (23% vs 5%) (Johns, 2019). I am friends with queer people that have attempted suicide, and I know how isolating being a queer person can be. Had my circumstances been different, I fear I might have considered an attempt as well. Hopefully, increased awareness of this issue can lead to systemic change and lower suicide rates.
While as a group, LGBTQ+ youth are at higher risk of suicide, rates differ among specific identities. According to The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey, 27% of bisexual people and 19% of gay or lesbian people attempted suicide in the past year as opposed to 6% of straight youth. These numbers were even higher for transgender and nonbinary youth, who were 2 to 2.5 times as likely to attempt than their cisgender LGB peers. Furthermore, racial identity has a significant impact on suicidality. White queer youth were tied with Asian/Pacific Islander youth as the least likely to attempt suicide (12%), compared to Native/Indigenous youth (21%), Middle Eastern/Northern African youth (20%), Black youth (19%), multiracial youth (17%), and Latinx youth (16%).
Although these suicide rates are disproportionate compared to non-LGBTQ+ youth, the sexual orientation and gender identity of queer youth are not the cause (Price-Feeney, 2020). Instead, it is the way LGBTQ+ people are treated. The minority stress theory follows this line of reasoning, arguing that the “relationship between minority and dominant values and resultant conflict with the social environment experienced by minority group members'' leads to poor mental health outcomes (Dentato, 2012). In other words, stressors like discrimination, bias, rejection, and bullying, have a negative impact on a person’s well being. For example, only ⅓ of LGBTQ+ youth experience parental acceptance, and those who report high levels of parental rejection are eight times more likely to attempt suicide (The Trevor Project, 2021). Similarly, “youth who reported undergoing conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide…in the past year” (Self-Reported Conversion Efforts, 2018).
While rejection serves to worsen the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth, support for one’s identity does the opposite. Having pronouns and names respected, access to gender affirming healthcare, and acceptance from loved ones all lower risk of suicide. Access to LGBTQ+-affiriming spaces, like GSA (Gender-Sexuality Alliance) has the same result (The Trevor Project, 2021). All of these statistics show that the key to saving the lives of LGBTQ+ youth is acceptance. If queer children are respected and treated kindly for their identities, perhaps they will become more accepting of themselves, and less likely to end their own lives.
Cullen, Katherine. “Why are Suicide Rates Higher Among LGBTQ Youth?.” Psychology Today, 12 October 2017, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-truth-about-exercise-addiction/201710/why-are-suicide-rates-higher-among-lgbtq-youth. Accessed 28 March 2023. E. Green, Amy; Price-Feeney, Myeshia; H. Dorison, Samuel; J. Pick, Casey. 2020: “Self-Reported Conversion Efforts and Suicidality Among US LGBTQ Youths and Young Adults.” American Journal of Public Health. 8 July 2020. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305701. Accessed 2 April 2023.
Johns MM; Lowry R; Hadergjonaj LT, et al. “Trends in Violence Victimization and Suicide Risk by Sexual Identity Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 21 August 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su6901a3
P. Dentato, Michael. “The minority stress perspective.” American Psychological Association, April 2012, https://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/exchange/2012/04/minority-stress. Accessed 28 March 2023.
“Facts About LGBTQ Youth Suicide.” The Trevor Project, 15 December 2021, https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/facts-about-lgbtq-youth-suicide/. Accessed 28 March 2023.
Price-Feeney, Myeshia. “What We Know About LGBTQ Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.” American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. 6 October 2020. https://afsp.org/story/what-we-know-about-lgbtq-youth-mental-health-and-suicide-prevention. Accessed 2 April 2023.