Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk
RESEARCH
Adolescent Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk: Evidence From a National Study
| Stephen T. Russell, PhD, and Kara Joyner, PhD
Sexual orientation has emerged as a muchdebated risk factor for adolescent suicide in recent years. It is commonly believed that the difficulties of dealing with the stigma of homosexuality might lead to depression and even suicide among gay men and lesbians; this may be particularly heightened during adolescence, when emerging sexuality becomes a central issue in young lives.1 To date, more than 20 studies have addressed this question, using a variety of methods and samples. Owing to the methodological limitations of past studies, consensus has not been reached regarding the degree to which same-sex sexual orientation is a risk factor for suicide. In the mid-1980s, research reports began to suggest that the suicide rate was dramatically higher for gay and lesbian youths than for the general adolescent population. Debate about this issue was heightened in 1989 with the publication of the report of the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, which suggested that gay and lesbian youths are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide and that they account for up to 30% of the total adolescent suicide rate.2 Since that report, studies of gay and lesbian youths indicate that between 48%3 and 76%4 have thought of suicide, while between 29%3 and 42%5 have attempted suicide. The samples used in these studies were not random, however; the gay and lesbian youths represented in these research studies may have been at higher initial risk for suicide. Certainly these rates are much higher than those for the general adolescent population; recent studies report that between 19%6 and 29%7 of the adolescent population have a lifetime history of suicidal ideation, and between 7%6 and 13%7 report ever having attempted suicide. Several recent studies have used random samples of adolescents to study the association between adolescent sexual
Adolescent Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk: Evidence From a National Study
| Stephen T. Russell, PhD, and Kara Joyner, PhD
Sexual orientation has emerged as a muchdebated risk factor for adolescent suicide in recent years. It is commonly believed that the difficulties of dealing with the stigma of homosexuality might lead to depression and even suicide among gay men and lesbians; this may be particularly heightened during adolescence, when emerging sexuality becomes a central issue in young lives.1 To date, more than 20 studies have addressed this question, using a variety of methods and samples. Owing to the methodological limitations of past studies, consensus has not been reached regarding the degree to which same-sex sexual orientation is a risk factor for suicide. In the mid-1980s, research reports began to suggest that the suicide rate was dramatically higher for gay and lesbian youths than for the general adolescent population. Debate about this issue was heightened in 1989 with the publication of the report of the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, which suggested that gay and lesbian youths are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide and that they account for up to 30% of the total adolescent suicide rate.2 Since that report, studies of gay and lesbian youths indicate that between 48%3 and 76%4 have thought of suicide, while between 29%3 and 42%5 have attempted suicide. The samples used in these studies were not random, however; the gay and lesbian youths represented in these research studies may have been at higher initial risk for suicide. Certainly these rates are much higher than those for the general adolescent population; recent studies report that between 19%6 and 29%7 of the adolescent population have a lifetime history of suicidal ideation, and between 7%6 and 13%7 report ever having attempted suicide. Several recent studies have used random samples of adolescents to study the association between adolescent sexual