Citation

Fulginiti A, Rhoades H, Mamey MR, Klemmer C, Srivastava A, Weskamp G, Goldbach JT. J. Youth Adolesc. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10964-020-01354-3

PMID

33206318

Abstract

Sexual and gender minority youth are at elevated risk for suicide. Studies have separately established the relation between minority stress and mental health symptoms, as well as minority stress and suicidality. However, no known research has simultaneously examined different mental health mechanisms whereby minority stress may be associated with different suicidal experiences (e.g., suicidal ideation, suicide attempts). The present study used data from a national sample of 572 sexual and gender minority youth aged 12 to 24 (mean age = 17.59; SD = 3.13) recruited from an LGBTQ youth-focused suicide crisis prevention provider. Nearly one-third of the sample (30.2%) identified as transgender, genderqueer, or questioning. Nearly one quarter of the sample (24.3%) identified as gay, 17.1% as pansexual, 16.8% as bisexual, and 15.2% as lesbian. Structural equation modeling was used for mediation analyses to explain suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Serial mediation models were determined to be the best fit for both suicide-related outcomes. Minority stress was associated with depressive and PTSD symptoms, which were linked with suicidal ideation and attempt through hopelessness. The findings supported the hypotheses that minority stress would be associated with suicidality not just directly, but also indirectly through multiple mental health symptom pathways.

Language: en

Keywords

PTSD; Depression; Suicidality; LGBT; Minority stress; Crisis services