Qualitative Thesis

The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to

Classrooms, consisting of 9th-through-12th graders from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, were randomly sampled to complete the Boston Youth Survey. The correlation research study excluded schools that served adults, previously incarcerated students, suspended students, and severely disabled students to minimize introduction of confounding variables. Participants in the Boston Youth Survey (BYS) were asked specifically with regards to their individual-level sexual orientation and suicidal ideation and attempts among other questions. Of the 2725 individuals sampled, 1878 completed the survey and were asked, on the sexual orientation item in the BYS questionnaire, to identify themselves with 1 of 6 categories that best described themselves: (1) completely heterosexual, (2) mostly heterosexual, (3) bisexual, (4) mostly homosexual, (5) completely homosexual (i.e., gay or lesbian), or (6) not sure. Respondents were then asked explicitly "Have you seriously considered attempting suicide?" and "Have you actually attempted suicide? [within the 12 months preceding survey administration]" with yes and no response options for those questions (Duncan & Hatzenbuehler, 2014). To test their hypothesis, researchers then obtained LGBT hate crimes data with help from the Boston Police Department Community Disorders Unit and linked the community information to

Victimization of LGBT community members is elevating as time passes. Researchers attempt to determine the prevalence of the violence committed against members of the LGBT community (Rothman, Exner, & Baughman, 2011). Many people that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender that are victims of hate crimes have participated in studies where they insist that the crimes committed against them are based on their sexuality; not class, color, gender, or any other factor. In a qualitative study, Meyer (2009) conducted open-ended interviews with people who were victims of hate crimes. The participants were recruited at LGBT advocacy organizations. Those who presumed that their hate crime was due to multiple systems of oppression such as class,

Bias-crime victimization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) minorities, based on sexual orientation has a negative physiological impact on the victims mental well-being. Depression, traumatic stress, anxiety, and anger have been found to be positively correlated with prolonged bias-crime victimization. Victims of these sort of crimes have a higher risk of depression, suicidality and substance abuse.

In studies of physical abuse in children, gay and lesbian individuals were more likely to report former abuse than heterosexuals. In one study, seventeen percent of gay and lesbian participants reported abuse, while only twelve percent of straight participants were determined to be abused as children. (Saewyc, Bearinger, Blum, and Resnick, 1999) Even in families, homosexuals were found to be abused worse than their straight siblings as children. (Tjaden, Thoennes, and Allison, 1999)

Almeida, Joanna, et al. “Emotional Distress Among LGBT Youth: The Influence of Perceived Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation.” SpringerLink, Springer, Dordrecht, 24 Feb. 2009, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-009-9397-9.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning individuals are almost 3 times more likely than others to experience a mental health condition such as major depression or generalized anxiety disorder (National Alliance on Mental Illness). That is around 55% of LGBTQ people who will develop a mental illness. While some mental illnesses can be genetic, prejudice and stigma have created a higher rate of mental illness in LGBTQ youth because mental illnesses and disorders develop due to prejudice resulting in hate crimes, the stigma of mental health, and the homophobia and transphobia in the United States - all of which that efforts to change are slowly being implemented in schools and homes around the nation. Prejudice and hate crimes such as sexual assault, murder, and torture are not something uncommon for LGBTQ people to experience. For instance, in 2016, 27 transgender people reported to have been murdered, that is more than two people murdered a month (Schmider). However, we can trace it back to much earlier than that.

One in ten gay men and lesbians have admitted to being a victim to a violent crime. 50% state at some point in their life, they had been insulted or verbally abused. Furthermore, sexual orientation based hate crimes have significantly increased violence and its victims often suffer greater bodily harm. This a growing concern.

The world is forever changing with its tolerance of sexual preference, orientation and gender choice. Even though it is 2017, people are becoming more exceptive of this way of life, and it is still a very sensitive subject. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community is widely affected every day, with the youth being targeted more than ever. Sometimes individuals are scared to “come out” because of all the backlash they will face. Per the Center for disease control and prevention, most individuals know that they are "different" at a young age, about eleven or twelve years old (LGBT Youth, 2014). Many individuals that identify with the LGBT are ostracized; there are a plethora of support groups and understanding people

Introduction: A common form of victimization, homophobic name-calling, has been associated with negative mental outcomes among adolescents. Research has shown the correlating effects of homophobic victimization, in the form of name-calling, to be associated with depression, increased suicide rates, feeling unsafe and insecure, and a developmental continuation of mental health problems into adulthood for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. According to studies, adolescents have reported several reoccurrences of hearing epithets such as ‘queer’, ‘dyke’, and ‘faggot’ throughout their day. The results of this study may help researchers investigate how homophobic behaviors develop in adolescence so that it may provide adequate information to help prevent the future victimization of LGBT students.

Inequality and discrimination for those dealing with their sexuality and sexual orientation everyday is a constant struggle that D 'Augelli, Grossman and Starks (2006) wanted to research. This research looked at how swaying from gender norms and victimisation in terms of verbal, physical and sexual abuse can negatively affect the mental health of LGBT youths, with post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD being of particular interest. The results were gathered by mental health

After, the authors explain how peer victimization has various mental health outcomes in LGB youth. They found that when controlling for previously reported levels of each psychosocial outcome variable that homophobia victimization anticipated concern, misery and lowered sense of school belonging in boys and extraction in girls. After this finding, it indicates that homophobic victimization had a great mental health impact on sexual minority youth more than the heterosexual peers. In addition, the authors discuss that in the Netherlands, 13-15-year-olds found that who have same-sex most likely to get negative treatment by other students than those without same-sex. Therefore, in the Netherlands in which the social expectations for women and men are very similar than different. In the Netherlands, where homosexuality is less stigmatized and the gender roles are less strictly regarded.

Research shows that due to these environmental challenges, LGBT youth are at risk for negative health outcomes and are more likely to attempt suicide, experience homelessness, and use illegal drugs. These issues may also contribute to anxiety, depressive symptoms, and feelings of isolation. Youth who express their gender in ways that vary from societal expectations for their perceived sex or gender are at risk for high levels of childhood physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. They are also at risk for social victimization (Youth.Gov, 2014).

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people face tremendous difficulties growing up in a society where heterosexuality is often presented as the only acceptable orientation and homosexuality are regarded as deviant. They continue to face discrimination and exclusion across the world in all spheres of life. Homophobic violence and abuse targeting LGBT people occur on a regular basis (Subhrajit, 2014).

Research with nationally representative samples has revealed greater odds of psychological distress among sexual minority youths than among heterosexuals. A study with a community based sample of transgender youths found that 94% had experienced some form of sexual orientation based victimization. In addition, victimization has been associated with greater psychological distress including symptoms of somatization and anxiety, depression, substance use, suicide attempts, and PTSD (Mustanski, Andrews, &Puckett, 2016). They might be at risk for mental health problems later in life because of accumulation of stressors over