Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for all teens because of the pressures that these kids face today. Sometimes it comes from the home, other times it is at school, and it’s even with them 24/7 thanks to cyberbullying as well. In order to prevent teen suicides, it becomes necessary to remove the pressures that teens face every day.
Statistics About Gay Teenage Suicide
1. For kids between the ages of 10-24, suicide is the second leading cause of death.
2. For LGBTQ kids between the ages of 10-24, suicide IS the leading cause of death.
3. Girls with same sex attractions or more likely to attempt suicide when compared to their heterosexual counterparts than boys.
4. More than 40% of men with same sex attractions at the age of 17 or higher have reported suicidal ideation at some point in their lives, compared to just 17% of heterosexual men.
5. Teens that are questioning their sexual orientation or have same sex attractions are up to 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than students who identify as heterosexual.
6. More teens that identify as being LGBTQ know of a peer that has either attempted or committed suicide compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
7. When age is eliminated as a survey indicator, 8 in 10 transgender individuals have thought about suicide seriously at least once in their lives.
8. Almost 50% of transgender teens have thought seriously about ending their lives.
9. 1 out of 4 transgender teens has made at least one suicide attempt.
10. When a teen comes from a family that rejects their sexual orientation, they are more than 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than teens that have same sex attractions and come from accepting families.
11. 1 out of every 6 students across the country in high school as seriously considered suicide at least once in the past 12 months.
12. Teens with same sex attractions who are Hispanic or African American are nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide as Caucasian students with the same sexual orientation.
13. Every bullying or victimization incident that occurs to a LGBTQ youth increases the chance of a self-harming behavior occurring by 2.5 times on average.
14. 80% of LGBTQ youth report that they have been verbally harassed at school within the past year because of their sexual orientation.
15. 60% of teens with same sex attractions feel like they are unsafe at school every day.
16. 20% of teens have been the victim of at least one physical assault at school because of their LGBTQ affiliation.
17. When no teasing or bullying over sexual orientation is involved in a LGBTQ student, their feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts are the lowest rates of any student demographic.
18. 1 in 4 teens who has attractions to the same sex will miss classes or days of school because of feeling threatened.
19. LGBTQ teens are 6 times more likely to have high levels of depression when compared to youth who identify as heterosexual.
20. LGBTQ teens are 3 times more likely to use illegal drugs.
21. Teens with same sex attractions are 3 times more likely to engage in unprotected sexual behaviors.
22. Even though only 1 in 10 teens identifies themselves as part of the LGBTQ community, they account for 3 in 10 youth suicides.
23. The rate of suicides in teens aged 16-20 is 30% higher than in the general population.
24. 14% of LGBTQ identifying teens report enough symptoms to meet the criteria of suffering from a major mental health disorder.
25. 1 in 3 teens that have same sex attractions report feeling lonely because of their sexual orientation.
26. 1 in 4 teens feel like they don’t receive any family support simply because of their sexual orientation.
27. More than 70% of the calls for help with suicidal help come from the southern and central regions of the United States.
28. The percentage of calls to The Trevor Lifeline about LGBTQ teens thinking about suicide from Missouri: 3.37%. The percentage of the US population living in Missouri: 1.95%.
29. The chances that a LGBTQ youth will commit suicide when compared to a heterosexual youth: 300%.
30. It has been known for at least 30 years that at least one-third of all teen suicides happen within the LGBTQ community.
31. The number of suicides in the US that are attributed to LGBTQ teens every year: about 1,500.
32. Teens who have a friend that commits suicide is 20% more likely to commit or attempt suicide on themselves. The same is true if a family member decides to take their own life and this additional risk occurs no matter what the family for friend’s sexual orientation happened to be.
Effects of Gay Teenage Suicide
Now add sexual orientation pressures into the mix, however, and you’ve got a volatile cocktail of emotions that can make life really difficult. Kids especially fear the things that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable to them and when they don’t grow up in a home where same sex relationships are considered normal, then those kids will be more prone to strike out against kids that are questioning their orientation or have same sex attractions.
The sad part about these suicide statistics that come from the youth in the LGBTQ community is that they have been known for several years. In some instances, the data that these youth are more prone to suicides, suicidal thoughts, and mental health concerns has been around for 30 years. Even though this problem has been known, the issues and statistics have stayed consistent over this same time frame. The same amounts of teens who identify themselves as being LGBTQ consider suicide as a viable outcome today as teens 30 years ago.
This means that something needs to change right now. What can be done to reduce the amount of gay teenage suicides that are happening every year? The first step is to be aware of these statistics so that you have information that can help you form a plan. From there, it is essential to take action within your community so that teens of all orientations can have a safe place to come when they feel the pressures of modern life.
The facts shine a light on a very dark reality: teens with a same sex attraction or those that are questioning their sexual orientation do not feel welcomed today in modern society.
How can we help teens who are struggling for acceptance with their sexual orientation? The first thing that we can provide is support where they need it most. Many LGBTQ youth don’t report bullying incidents to school officials or the police simply because they feel like nothing will be done about the problem. Many teens feel like they’ll be blamed for bullying incidents that occur simply because they have an “alternative” sexual orientation.
Raising Awareness
Raising awareness is also another way to help teens who are thinking about suicide. There’s always an answer to the problems that are going on that won’t require a permanent checkout. It all starts on the front lines with the parents. Even when religion is part of the equation, LGBTQ youth are more successful when they feel like their parents love them. It reduces the chance of suicide greatly and when there aren’t any pressures on these teens, they are the happiest youth demographic today.
We can also point teens toward treatment programs when there are mental health concerns that begin to make themselves known. Instead of encouraging teens to “rub some dirt in it and get back up,” we can point them toward professional counseling, proven coping skills, and other treatment options that can help them overcome a disorder or illness that might lead them down a path that ends in suicide. They are kids. They aren’t going to know where all of their resources are. That’s why it is important for the community to get involved.
It also means that better training for school professionals, law enforcement officials, and others in authority over LGBTQ teens needs to happen. When early behaviors can be identified, then the risks of suicide can be lowered. Finding grief counseling for those who have lost a family member or a friend to suicide is also important because it can help the teen see that the grieving process is normal and heals rather than be something that they should feel ashamed of having happen to them.
What does this all mean? That almost all teen suicides that occur because of a same sex orientation are preventable. It means that we all need to reach out to these kids so that they aren’t feeling lonely, neglected, or unwanted. When we can show these teens that they are special and that their differences make them stronger instead of weaker, then together we can all build a society that we’ll be proud to hand over to our children one day.