|
 Teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or are questioning
their sexual identity are also more likely than their heterosexual
peers to have had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in childhood,
the study team reports in Journal of Adolescent Health.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and
young adults and there is evidence that suicide rates are increasing
in this age group, they write.
“It is imperative that we identify adolescent populations at
greatest risk to guide our prevention efforts,” lead author Kristen
Clements-Nolle, of the School of Community Health Sciences of the
University of Nevada, Reno, told Reuters Health by email.
“Furthermore, cumulative exposure to ACEs greatly increased suicide
risk behaviors among sexual minority adolescents. For example,
compared with heterosexual students with no exposure to ACEs, LGB/not
sure students with two or more ACEs had approximately 13 times
higher odds of attempting suicide in the past year,” Clements-Nolle
said.
To examine the relationships among teen sexual identity, childhood
trauma and suicide risk, Clements-Nolle and colleagues enrolled
approximately 5,000 students from 97 high schools in Nevada to fill
out questionnaires and answer questions about their sexual identity
and exposure to adverse childhood experiences.
Adverse childhood events included such things as being physically
forced to have sex with someone, or being beaten, kicked or
physically hurt by an adult. In addition, students were asked about
their exposure to domestic violence, mental illness and substance
abuse by family members.
Participants were also asked if they had ever seriously considered
suicide during the past year and how many times had they attempted
suicide during that time.
About 10 percent of students self-identified as lesbian, gay or
bisexual (LGB), and nearly 5 percent were not sure of their sexual
identity. Just over 85 percent of students identified as
heterosexual.
The LGB and questioning students were more likely to be exposed to
adverse childhood events. More than half of LGB and 40 percent of
questioning students reported at least two ACEs, compared to about
one-quarter of heterosexual students reporting the same exposure.
[to top of second column] |
For all students, the greater the number of adverse experiences they
reported, the greater was their risk of having had suicidal thoughts
during the past year.
Sexual identity was also linked to risk of suicidal thinking.
Compared with heterosexual students with no ACEs, LGB and
questioning students overall were three times more likely to report
suicidal thoughts.
LGB and questioning students who reported one ACE were almost 7
times more likely to think about suicide compared to heterosexual
students with one ACE. With three or more ACEs, LGB and questioning
students were 14 times more likely to think about suicide compared
to heterosexual counterparts.
Compared to heterosexual students with no ACEs, LGB and unsure
students were almost 4 times more likely to have attempted suicide.
“Studies have shown that family acceptance and parental caring may
reduce suicidal behaviors among LGB adolescents and young adults,”
Clements-Nolle said.
Future research should evaluate whether interventions that support
families with sexual minority youth and promote acceptance of
adolescent sexual identity can also impact childhood victimization
and household dysfunction, said Clements-Nolle.
“While the assessment of intervention effectiveness was beyond the
scope of the current study, the higher prevalence of ACEs among
adolescents who are LGB or are not sure of their sexual identity and
the demonstrated influence on suicide risk behaviors highlight the
need to ensure that suicide prevention efforts for sexual minority
youth are trauma-informed,” Clements-Nolle said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2nVoMXc Journal of Adolescent Health, online
December 6, 2017.
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
