Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to the Massachusetts 2006 Youth Risk Survey. A 2007 San Francisco State University Chavez Center Institute study shows that lgbt and questioning youth who come from a rejecting family are up to nine times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. And for every completed suicide by a young person, it is estimated that 100 to 200 attempts are made (2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey).
In
Always My Child: A Parent's Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning Son or Daughter, author Kevin Jennings associates this statistic with the stressors gay youth face, such as:
- Increasing awareness of same sex attraction.
- Disclosure of sexual orientation to family and friends.
- Victimization provoked by their sexual orientation (verbal abuse, threats of physical violence, etc.).
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