What the Trump?Anticipated Rejectionand Concern aboutRights are Associatedwith Suicide Risk inLGBTQ Communities,but Can ResilienceTrump Risk?
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2017
Description
It is common knowledge that LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) communities experience disparate rates of mental health concerns, including greater levels of self-reported depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior (Bränström, Hatzenbuehler, & Pachankis, 2016). As an example, gay and bisexual men are four times as likely and lesbian and bisexual women are 2 times as likely, to attempt suicide compared to heterosexual counterparts (King et al., 2008). Between 25-43% of transgender persons have a lifetime history of suicide attempts, compared to 5% of the general US population (Nock & Kessler, 2006). Such poor mental health outcomes may be due, in part, to a lack of acceptance by society in the form of discrimination and unequal rights, and to rejection by family, friends and the self, including internalized homophobia, concealment and shame (Skerrett, Kõlves, & De Leo, 2016). LGBTQ persons are also more likely to have experienced trauma, including physical and sexual abuse, as well as interpersonal violence by intimate partners, family and strangers (LangenderferMagruder, Whitfeld, Walls, Kattari, & Ramos, 2016). LGBTQ communities, therefore, constitute a vulnerable and marginalized population, who are already at risk for rejection and abuse with consequent deleterious effects on physical and mental health, including risk for suicide.
Citation Information
Hirsch, Jameson K.; Kaniuka, Andrea; Brooks, Byron; Hirsch, Kittye K.; Mann, Abbey K.; Williams, Stacey L.; Cohn, Tracy J.; and Dodd, Julia. 2017. What the Trump?Anticipated Rejectionand Concern aboutRights are Associatedwith Suicide Risk inLGBTQ Communities,but Can ResilienceTrump Risk?. The Cllinical Psychologist: A Publication of the Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12, APA). Vol.70(2). 17-20. https://www.div12.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/tCP-May-2017.pdf ISSN: 0009-9244