The suicide risk for LGBT teens.
1 in 5 teenagers suffer from mental health problems and suicide is among the top three causes of death in 15-24 year olds globally.
Teenagers have lots of stress to deal with in their adolescent years. This includes anything from stress of school and pressure from parents to struggling to fit in and figuring out who they are.
For many teenagers this includes simply figuring out where they start and the influence of their parents ends but, many teenagers have to deal with more than this, LGBT teens also have to come to terms with their sexuality. For many this can be as simple as coming out as gay and receiving support from friends and family. However, others have to deal with years of questioning their sexuality and many repress who they are due to stigma, bullying or fear of rejection.
When this all adds together it comes as no surprise that a recent study shows that LGBT kids are at a higher risk of attempting suicide. The study shows that 34.9% of sexual minorities planned a suicide and 24.9% attempted it. Compared to straight teenagers where 14.8% of had planned suicide and 11.9% had attempted it, the statistics are twice as high for sexual minorities.
The statistics are even higher for teenagers that identify as bisexual with 40% planning suicide and 31% attempting it, and though transgender teenagers weren’t included in the study evidence suggests that they may be at an even higher risk than others.
This study should be treated as a wake-up call and show society that we need to have a more active role in ensuring that more teenagers don’t feel like their only option is suicide. It also highlights the fact that the struggle is much greater for LGBT kids and their struggle should not be ignored or trivialised. We need to start being more open with mental health and start to understand how deeply discrimination and rejection can scar children who are still trying to learn their place in the world.