TOPIC INDEX    		 Suicide Risk
    in the LGBT Communities
    In the New York Capital District almost TWO PEOPLE PER WEEK kill themselves. We don't have specific statistics to indicate the number who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered, but we know that those of us who are, are at higher risk. Studies consistently show that we are at a higher lifetime risk for suicidal ideation and at a higher risk for suicide attempts. The statistics are staggering. An estimated 30% of youth who die by suicide identify as G, L, B, T, or Q. While 12% of men in the general male population report having made a suicide plan, the number is 21.3% for Gay and Bisexual men. And wheras 2.3% of 'straight' men report a prior suicide attempt, the number of Gay and Bisexual men reporting an attempt is 11.9%. [Paul et al. (2002)]

    The problem is especially troublesome among teens. In addition to the usual stressors associated with growing up, LGBT youth must deal with the added emotional distress of stigmatization, victimization, and antigay hostility.

    The following are some of the related factors that place Gay and Bisexual men at special risk:

    • Native American
    • Men who do not identify as any particular sexual orientation
    • Inadequate education
    • Lower annual income
    • Less than full-time employment
    • Parents who had a drug or alcohol problems
    • Experienced physical or sexual abuse as a child
    • Younger at time of coming out
    • Early repeated antigay harassment
    • Recent first sexual experience with another man
    • Recent disclosure of one's gay or bisexual identity to others

    For GLBTQ Youth, there are added factors:

    • Hopelessness (9x as likely report suicidality)
    • Methamphetamine use (3.5 x as likely to report suicidality)
    • Homelessness (4x as likely report suicidality)
    • In-School Victimization (almost 3x as likely to report suicidality)
    • Youth who are least likely to reveal their sexual orientation to anyone
    • Males with more feminine gender characteristics
    • Those who recognized same-sex sexual orientation at an earlier age
    • Those who have been sexually abused
    • Those who in the past year identified as GLBT
    • Family Problems

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