Suicide Attempt Incidence Results in Studies of Self-Defined Gay and Bisexual Males - Page Index.

G(L)B Youth Lifetime "Suicide Attempt" DATA - 12 Published Studies (American, or Specified).

G(L)B Youth Lifetime "Suicide Attempt" DATA - Unpublished Studies (American, or Specified) & Published Suicide Attempt Data (No Analysis): 8 studies + one Internet Survey.

Gay/Bisexual Male Youth Lifetime "Suicide Attempt" DATA Studies With "Heterosexual" Male Control Samples - 6 Studies. Two major studies published in October 1999, and one in April 2000.

American Youth Risk Behavior Studies: 1987 (Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey), 1993, 1995, 1997 - 6 Studies.

Research Based Indications of "at risk" Status of Homosexually Oriented Males.

Coming Soon!  Results of 2 Postmortem Suicide Studies.

* Study samples included lesbian or bisexual females.

1.  An assortment of community-based volunteer samples, sometimes including individuals referred for the study by counselors.  The sometimes high percentage of subjects in 'counselling" situation has produced related criticism, the implication being of "bias" - but this may not be the case. Community-based samples of gay and bisexual males used in HIV-AIDS research (cohort samples) have revealed a high prevalence of "psychiatric histories" (up to about 60%) for these males. See Colorado Paper (1997).

2.  Samples of gay/bisexual males who were a part of larger sample including lesbians and bisexual females. Suicide attempt prevalence was given for whole group with the authors specifying a statistical non-difference for both genders.

3.  Samples of gay/bisexual males who were a part of larger sample including lesbians and bisexual females. Suicide attempt prevalence was given for the males.

4. Samples of gay/bisexual/lesbian individuals with suicide attempt prevalence given for entire group.

5. The significance of 30.5% (or 28.4%) of gay/bisexual male youth having attempted suicide is realized from the following summary of suicide attempt prevalence in the general male youth population:

The prevalence of suicide attempts among gay and bisexual male youths is high (39%), especially as compared to reports of presumably heterosexual [male & female] youths in high schools (11% to 16%) (Adcock, Nagy, & Simpson, 1991; Garrison,1989) and community samples (9% to 12%) (Guyer, Lescohier, Gallagher, Hausman, & Azzara, 1989; Joffe, Offord, & Boyle, 1988). (Rotheram-Borus et al. 1994)

7. 78% of first suicide attempts occurred between from the age 12 to 16 years.

Note: This Odds Ratio "7.1<13.8<26.8"is almost identical to the one produced in the Bagley & Tremblay (1997) Calgary study of young adult males (age range = 18-27): 95% CI, OR: 3.4<14.4<61.4. This is to the average of about 23 years for the two samples. The 95% CI, OR: 3.6<14.9<61.6 to the age of 21 for males compared in the Bell & Weinberg (1978) study is also similar.

Statistical Estimates: Often enough published studies contain sufficient data permitting a further statistical analysis of the data, such as determining Odds Ratios for the reported results, or for a subset of the sample for which results were reported. These results, however, are "estimates," or a close approximation of what the values would be had they been generated from the actual data sets. For additional information related to these calculation, follow the hyperlink for the given study.

8. Study done using the Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey Questionnaire amended to solicit "sexual orientation" information.

Research Based Indications of "at risk" Status of Homosexually Oriented Males.

All community based samples of homosexually oriented males - with control samples of heterosexual males - report elevated rated of suicidality for homosexually oriented males compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

The school-based Youth Risk Behavior Studies all report elevated rates of suicidality for homosexually oriented males during  the year preceding the study. The studies generally report  that homosexually oriented males (defined on the basis of either self-identification or homosexual activity) are at greater risk for what appears to be the more serious suicide attempts: the ones associated with having received medical care.  This "higher risk" status for the "more serious forms of self-harm"  is replicated in the Bagley & Tremblay (1996, 1997) study.

To date, the Bagley & Tremblay (1997) study remains as the only study to have used a household-based random sampling technique - stratified random sampling - producing both a sample of homosexually oriented males and of their heterosexual counterparts for comparison purposes. This study replicated the Bell & Weinberg (1978) results and is also the best and most recent indicator available of the "self-harm" at risk status of homosexually oriented males. Compared to heterosexual males, homosexually oriented males (12.7% of sample) accounted for 26% of males in the "self-harm" category (including suicide attempts) and 62.5% of suicide attempters. They were 3-times more at risk for reporting "self-harm" and almost 14-times more at risk for reporting having attempted suicide.

Given that homosexually oriented male youth have been reported to be at greater risk of the more serious forms of self harm - and that such results are replicated - they are therefore likely to be even more at risk for completed suicides. Given the Bagley & Tremblay (1997) results and erring on the conservative side:

Homosexually oriented males may well account for more than half of the male youth deaths resulting from suicide.

Postmortem Suicide Studies

Some of the data to yet to be organized:

Sexual Orientation in Adolescents Who Commit Suicide. Shaffer, David; And Others.  Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, v25 suppl p64-71 1995
Note: Supplement: "Research Issues in Suicide and Sexual Orientation."
Abstract.
Research Highlights and Commentary (Alternate Link):
 

San Diego Suicide Study: The Adolescents. Rich, Charles L. et al. , Adolescence, v25 n100 p855-65 Win 1990
Abstract.
 

San Diego Suicide Study: Comparison of Gay to Straight Males.
Rich, Charles L. et al. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior; v16 n4 p448-57 Win 1986
Abstract.

Research Highlights:

In a series of 283 suicides, 13 male victims were deemed to be homosexual, ranging in age from 21- to 42-years of age. There were 106 male suicide victims in the same age range out of 202 male victims. In this age range, 10.9% of the victims were homosexual; the implications are that gay males are not over-represented in suicide if openly gay males account for about 10% of the male population.. This assumption, however, may not be the case given the highly to partly closeted nature of many gay and bisexual males. Remafedi (1994a) comments on this study in the Introduction to his book, Death by Denial: "Moreover, since suicide attempts in homosexual persons have been found to be associated with nondisclosure of orientation, it is reasonable to expect that the 10 percent figure is the lowest possible estimate of the actual proportion of gay suicides in the San Diego cohort. Unfortunately, the authors minimized their own findings by overestimating the prevalence of homosexuality in the general population and underestimating the likelihood of missed cases of gay and lesbian suicide" (p. 11).