"American Journal of Public Health
American Public Health Association
Suicide Attempts Among Gay and Bisexual Men: Lifetime Prevalence and Antecedents
Jay P. Paul, PhD, Joseph Catania, PhD, [...], and Ron Stall, PhD, MPH
Additional article information
Abstract
Objectives. We examined lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts and psychosocial correlates in a large population-based sample of men who have sex with men (MSM).
Methods. A telephone probability sample of US urban MSM (n = 2881) were interviewed between November 1996 and February 1998.
Results. Twenty-one percent had made a suicide plan; 12% had attempted suicide (almost half of those 12% were multiple attempters). Most who attempted suicide made their first attempt before age 25. Although prevalence of parasuicide (i.e., attempted suicide) has remained constant across birth cohorts, mean age at initial attempts has declined.
Conclusions. MSM are at elevated risk for suicide attempts, with such risk clustered earlier in life. Some risk factors were specific to being gay or bisexual in a hostile environment.
Although primarily based on opportunistic samples, prior research suggests that gay men, lesbians, and bisexual persons have higher rates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicides than do heterosexual individuals. Lifetime prevalence rates of serious suicidal ideation ranging from 24% to 41% have been reported, along with lifetime prevalence rates of suicide attempts ranging from 7% to 20% among adult gay men and lesbians.1–3 Studies of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths have reported levels of attempted suicide ranging from 20% to 40%, with rates in some special subpopulations (e.g., street youth, GLB youths who have been victims of violent assault) being even higher.4–12 The available evidence13 suggests that the relative risk for serious suicide attempts among gay and bisexual males is substantially greater than that among their heterosexual counterparts, but basic epidemiological research on suicidal behavior in this population is both sparse in quantity and deficient in quality, plagued by methodological deficits, particularly with respect to sampling.14
In a study using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III data, Cochran and Mays15 recently found that 19.3% of their sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) had attempted suicide, compared with 3.6% of the men who had only female sexual partners (and 0.5% of the men reporting no sexual partners). "
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447240/
Thanks OP for bringing this to our attention. Return of Kings should do a piece on this, because the media will probably never cover this connection that's obviously factual.
"I would hold off on linking homo's to being outright suicidal murderers.
There are plenty of cases where hetero people go nuts and kill people, should we link their tendencies to something sexwise all the time?"
I would hold off on putting your hands over your eyes and ignoring the evidence.
If these guys had only their own lives in their hand, I wouldn't care. But they have hundreds of lives at a given moment that they're tasked with guarding - much much more scrutiny is due, in the same way that the allowable blood alcohol content for a private driver is higher than what it is for say, a bus driver or an airplane pilot.
You don't need to go after homosexuals - you just have to have candidates be psychologically evaluated.
American Public Health Association
Suicide Attempts Among Gay and Bisexual Men: Lifetime Prevalence and Antecedents
Jay P. Paul, PhD, Joseph Catania, PhD, [...], and Ron Stall, PhD, MPH
Additional article information
Abstract
Objectives. We examined lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts and psychosocial correlates in a large population-based sample of men who have sex with men (MSM).
Methods. A telephone probability sample of US urban MSM (n = 2881) were interviewed between November 1996 and February 1998.
Results. Twenty-one percent had made a suicide plan; 12% had attempted suicide (almost half of those 12% were multiple attempters). Most who attempted suicide made their first attempt before age 25. Although prevalence of parasuicide (i.e., attempted suicide) has remained constant across birth cohorts, mean age at initial attempts has declined.
Conclusions. MSM are at elevated risk for suicide attempts, with such risk clustered earlier in life. Some risk factors were specific to being gay or bisexual in a hostile environment.
Although primarily based on opportunistic samples, prior research suggests that gay men, lesbians, and bisexual persons have higher rates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicides than do heterosexual individuals. Lifetime prevalence rates of serious suicidal ideation ranging from 24% to 41% have been reported, along with lifetime prevalence rates of suicide attempts ranging from 7% to 20% among adult gay men and lesbians.1–3 Studies of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths have reported levels of attempted suicide ranging from 20% to 40%, with rates in some special subpopulations (e.g., street youth, GLB youths who have been victims of violent assault) being even higher.4–12 The available evidence13 suggests that the relative risk for serious suicide attempts among gay and bisexual males is substantially greater than that among their heterosexual counterparts, but basic epidemiological research on suicidal behavior in this population is both sparse in quantity and deficient in quality, plagued by methodological deficits, particularly with respect to sampling.14
In a study using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III data, Cochran and Mays15 recently found that 19.3% of their sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) had attempted suicide, compared with 3.6% of the men who had only female sexual partners (and 0.5% of the men reporting no sexual partners). "
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447240/
Thanks OP for bringing this to our attention. Return of Kings should do a piece on this, because the media will probably never cover this connection that's obviously factual.
"I would hold off on linking homo's to being outright suicidal murderers.
There are plenty of cases where hetero people go nuts and kill people, should we link their tendencies to something sexwise all the time?"
I would hold off on putting your hands over your eyes and ignoring the evidence.
If these guys had only their own lives in their hand, I wouldn't care. But they have hundreds of lives at a given moment that they're tasked with guarding - much much more scrutiny is due, in the same way that the allowable blood alcohol content for a private driver is higher than what it is for say, a bus driver or an airplane pilot.
You don't need to go after homosexuals - you just have to have candidates be psychologically evaluated.