LGBTQ trans and youth of color at higher risk for suicide attempts
A recent survey showed that the risk of suicide for LGBTQ plus youth of color and transgender youth is greater in comparison to their peers.
The third annual survey by the Trevor Project showed that 42% of participants considered attempting suicide within the past year.
12% of white LGBTQ youth attempted suicide in comparison to 21% of black. Research from the American Psychological Association shows and increase in suicide among black youth.
The survey also says that factors like discrimination could increase these attempts but health experts say many factors can come to play, and are all connected to trauma and things many haven’t dealt with internally. “It can be anything from child abuse and neglect to discrimination, to having people mistreat us because of who we are and how we want to live. So that is the connector which is trauma,” Psychologist Dr. Kathy Seifert.
UMES Counseling Services Kate Kent has been in counseling for over 25 years, and says other trauma could come from LGBTQ youth who’ve lost one of their main sources of support: their families. “On top of that, their families may also be the major source of their pain. I was happy with myself after coming out, my friends were cool, but parents struggled and were mostly rejecting. A youth needs the support of their family. Humans need the support of their family and their wider extended family to feel secure,” said Kent.
In terms of being black and LGBTQ, Kent also says these individuals are normally closeted/secretive in fear of being misunderstood, which ultimately adds even more stress and puts them at higher risk for mental health problems. “They are facing a world without their family support if they choose to move away from their home (so they can have freedom to live their life) or if they are rejected by family. Whether fear of being rejected, or actually being rejected, they are putting themselves in jeopardy,” said Kent.
There’s another study done by the National Institute of Health to check out , finding higher rates of suicidal thinking among female to male and female to different gender. Kent says that females in general have a higher rate of identified depression and often suicidal ideation is part of this.
