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By the numbers: LGBQ teens face higher suicide risk

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to plan and attempt suicide

By Lea Winerman

March 2018, Vol 49, No. 3

Print version: page 76

1 min read

APA Style leaf logo Cite This Article in APA Style
American Psychological Association. (2018, March 1). By the numbers: LGBQ teens face higher suicide risk. Monitor on Psychology, 49(3). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/03/numbers

25%

The percentage of LGBQ teens who reported having attempted suicide in the past year, compared with 6 percent of heterosexual teens.

35%

The percentage of LGBQ teens who reported having planned suicide in the past year, compared with 12 percent of heterosexual teens.

40%

The percentage of LGBQ teens who reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year, compared with 15 percent of heterosexual teens.

4.34 times

Sexual minority boys were more than four times as likely as their heterosexual peers to report having attempted suicide, while LGBQ girls were three times more likely than heterosexual girls to report having attempted suicide. Overall, however, teen girls were more likely than teen boys to report attempting, planning or considering suicide.

Source: Suicide Risk Behaviors Among Sexual Minority Adolescents in the United States, 2015. Caputi, T.L, Smith, D. & Ayers, J.W. JAMA, 2017. Available at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2666491opens in new window. For a broader look at data on sexual minority youth from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, visit www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/ss/ss6509a1.htmopens in new window.

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