"GLBT"'s not so, "Gay", after all...

[amicus]

I saw a 'crawler' news item on CNN this evening, "Gay Teens 7 Times More Likely to Commit Suicide", that prompted me to search the Web to confirm that.

As most of the 'usual suspects' now have me on ignore, and I have alienated almost everyone else, I am unlikely to offend the few "straight, blue eyed, white males", that bother to read my posts.

Even so, this is not intended to be a hurtful posting, rather perhaps to be taken as a warning for those who promote Gay behavior among teenagers in and out of a school environment. There are many risks involved.

~~~

http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1998020510.shtml

http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/gbsuicide2.htm

Gay and lesbian youth belong to two groups at high risk of suicide: youth and homosexuals. A majority of suicide attempts by homosexuals occur during their youth, and gay youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than any other adolescents. They may comprise up to 30% of completed youth suicides annually (Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide, 1989).

http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/news/austra.htm

It appears like like Australia is having the status quo restored: the most at risk gay and bisexual adolescents - the 30% who will be attempting suicide - will continue to be "ignored to death".

http://www.jeramyt.org/gay/gayteenhealth.html

Gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) teens represent a significant minority in the adolescent population. If one presumes that national studies of homosexuality in adult populations holds for adolescent populations (3-5%), then this signifies a substantial proportion of youths for whom support groups and special services may be needed. Several studies have shown the negative health consequences of GLB self-identification in American culture. Specifically, this population suffers from increased risks in several different areas compared to heterosexually identified adolescents. These primary risk factors include dramatically increased suicidality, mental health problems, high risk sexual behaviors, poorer school outcomes, homelessness and substance abuse. Externally, GLB youth are subjected to higher rates of violence and victimization than heterosexual youth.

A word to the wise, perhaps?

Amicus

 

[Safe_Bet]

I saw a 'crawler' news item on CNN this evening, "Gay Teens 7 Times More Likely to Commit Suicide", that prompted me to search the Web to confirm that.

As most of the 'usual suspects' now have me on ignore, and I have alienated almost everyone else, I am unlikely to offend the few "straight, blue eyed, white males", that bother to read my posts.

Even so, this is not intended to be a hurtful posting, rather perhaps to be taken as a warning for those who promote Gay behavior among teenagers in and out of a school environment. There are many risks involved.

~~~

http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1998020510.shtml

http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/gbsuicide2.htm



http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/news/austra.htm


http://www.jeramyt.org/gay/gayteenhealth.html


A word to the wise, perhaps?

Amicus

Oh, Amicus you crack me up! You're like that other dumb ass who declared he "discovered" the New World with a couple of dozen Native Americans standing in front of him. You aren't saying anything that any gay or lesbian person doesn't already know, so you aren't gonna get the upset reaction you wanted by quoting a bunch of statistics.

Everybody acknowledges that with peer pressures, hormones and emerging self awareness, being a teen is a high risk time for suicide. When you add in the additional societal pressures exerted on a gay or lesbian teen, of course the percentages increase.

So if you want to bemoan something, how about ranting about all of the homophobic actions and beliefs that CAUSE gay and lesbian teens to attempt suicide in greater numbers. They are what they are, but what CAN and MUST change is the queer bashing of the bigots and fundie gay haters that propagate this anti-queer atmosphere.

 

[Guest]

You should have read further in your source:

http://www.jeramyt.org/gay/gayteenhealth.html

Similarly, Safren (1999) found that environmental variables were adequate to explain not only suicidality in GLB youth, but also increases in depression and hopelessness. His data indicates that after the external factors of stress, social support and acceptance coping were controlled, the rates of suicidality, hopelessness and depression fell to non-significance. Finally, Hershberger (1997) found similar results, but contradicted Russell's finding about victimization. Hershberger found that suicide attempters all had a significantly greater incidence of verbal insults, property damage, physical and sexual assaults and physical abuse. Further, he found that relational problems, alcohol abuse and self-esteem were all highly correlated to suicide attempts.

All of this date coincides with the hypothesis that sexual orientation is not inherently related to suicidality. Rather, external factors such as stress, social isolation, feelings of hopelessness and victimization seem to be more useful predictors of suicidality among GLB youth. As will be shown, this population suffers significantly higher rates of victimization, violence and social stigma than demographically matched heterosexual youth.


You're right--there are many risks involved in being openly gay/lesbian/bisexual, and as the reference above (your source, let's remember) shows, virtually all of them are external, i.e., caused by bullying, assaults (verbal and physical), harassment, stigmatization, and ostracization.

What do we take from this? That the biggest danger in being openly GLB is other people.


By the way, suicide rates in the Army have hit levels not seen since the Vietnam War:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/09/09/army.suicides/index.html

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The rate of suicides among-active duty soldiers is on pace to surpass both last year's numbers and the rate of suicide in the general U.S. population for the first time since the Vietnam war, according to U.S. Army officials.

Officials attribute the rise in suicides to anxiety and stress from increased operations and more deployments.

As of August, 62 Army soldiers have committed suicide, and 31 cases of possible suicide remain under investigation, according to Army statistics. Last year, the Army recorded 115 suicides among its ranks, which was also higher than the previous year.

Army officials said that if the trend continues this year, it will pass the nation's suicide rate of 19.5 people per 100,000, a 2005 figure considered the most recent by the government."


Obviously, there's something about the psychological makeup of people who join the Army that predisposes them to suicide. (That's sarcasm, folks.) Just an another example that external stressors and trauma are major determinants in suicidality.

Actually, the group at the highest risk of suicide in the general population is elderly widowed males, according to Medscape. And it should be noted that the West has the highest overall suicide rate of any region in the U.S.

So, a word to the wise--if you're male, STAY MARRIED, DON'T LIVE IN THE WESTERN U.S., and DON'T GET OLD!