“For the first time ever, researchers have claimed that there is a direct link between homophobic rejection of LGB adolescents by their families and mental health problems.
“The study found that LGB young people who had experienced higher levels of rejection from their family were 8.4 times more likely to attempt suicide, and almost 6 times more likely to become depressed, than young people who experienced no rejection from their families. Rejected LGB teenagers were also found to be 3.4 times more likely to use drugs and 3.4 times more likely to engage in unprotected sex than other young people.” [Pink News UK]
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REBELComx
Great. More info from the great big book of “Well, DUH!”
Tallskin
I can believe it.
I came out in the late 70s and my family were supportive, but it was still a horrid time. Without family support I can well imagine being much more depressed than I actually was.
As it was a lot of my straight friends abandoned me and most of my circle of school friends didn’t want to socialise with me anymore.
Cathy
RebelComX – the important thing here is that we now have scientific data. of course this is intuitive, but now we have irrefutable proof that can be used to create changes in the way medical, mental heath and other institutions treat lgbt youth and their families. and rejecting families, understanding the negative impact, might do something about their behavior and prevent the needless loss in our community of young peoples’ health and happiness and well-being
the cynicism in this community is depressing
Tallskin
Cathy,
damaged people react in a bitter and cynical manner.
BrianPrince
In high school, in an A.P. Sociology class, I performed a research paper in which I surveyed all of the students in our school to determine the school’s homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual population… and to determine if there existed any correlation between sexual orientation and family status (single-parent mother, single-parent father, dual-parent), and to determine if there was any increased incidence in suicidal tendencies or ideations among sexual-minority students.
I found, in that small… non-representative survey group, that homosexual and bisexual youth, from single-parent homes, were more likely to attempt to commit suicide (or to consider it an option), and that self-identified feminine people (male and female) were more likely to use passive, non-violent methods such as over-dose, where-as self-identified masculine people (male and female) were more likely to use non-passive, violent measures (car accident, exsangiunation…).
It’s scary… that a high-school student is able to figure out, in a matter of six weeks… what probably took professionals years to realize.
Charles J. Mueller
@BrianPrince:
Agreed. It is scary.
But, if the “professionals” figured it all out as quickly as you did, they wouldn’t have any more reason to continue their “research”, would they? And no more government grants, either!
As I quoted in another thread, “A government bureaucracy, once created, continues to exist for it’s own celebration long after the need for it has passed.”
This applies to all so-called “professionals” as well. ;-0
Look at how many “clients” psychiatrists lost when the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from it’s list of mental disorders. Millions of potentially “lost” dollars for the shrinks.
And just think about how much potential income for the church and the fundies in strange undies will be lost when gay marriage (civil-rights at last becomes a reality for the LGBT community? What reason will they have left to rally their flocks to send ever more money into them?
When there is no longer any “struggle”, no “battle” to win, no “devil” to fight and no one left to condemn and throw rocks at, then their reason for existing will have vanished into oblivion.
And, won’t that be a wonderful day?