Substance Abuse In The LGBT Community

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

In this article, the key research questions and hypothesis proposed are: 1) does the family acceptance and supportive behavior predicts show a difference in "…self-esteem, social support, general health status, depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and behaviors" (cite?) and can be influential to the health and mental health of LGBT adolescents and young adults? 2) Can the relationship between family and their children 's LGBT identity as they go into adulthood effect their health and mental health status? The hypothesis states that being accepted of LGBT adolescents can be connected to a decreased in mental and behavior health 's then increasing the chance of having positive influences in the phases of their adulthood.

The young people of the LGBT community do in fact have increased risks when it comes to their mental health. For example: Compared to homeless youth that identify as heterosexual, LGBT adolescents are more likely to have major depressive episodes (41.3% vs. 28.5%), suicidal thoughts (73% vs. 53.2%), at least one suicide attempt (57.1% vs. 33.7%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (47.6% vs. 33.4%) (Keuroghlian, A. S., Shtasel, D., & Bassuk, E. L., 2014). It is also shown that homeless youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, ranging from 13 to 21 years of age are more apt than youth who identify as heterosexual to experience and report symptoms of depression and use street drugs such as, methamphetamines, cocaine and or crack (Keuroghlian, A. S., Shtasel, D., & Bassuk, E. L., 2014).

Twenty percent, about 320,000, of America’s homeless teens identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (Leuween, 2006, para. 5). So many LGBT teenagers become homeless because they don’t receive support or acceptance from their family, community and friends. Homelessness doesn’t only occur because of runaways (Cochran, et al. 2002, para.3). Teenagers can find themselves homeless because their parents lost their jobs and are not able to support them anymore.

Another area that demands acceptance towards sexual orientation is by parents. The average American has heard about an instance where someone “came out of the closet.” Although, most people don’t think about what happens after they tell their parents the truth about their sexuality. For millions of teens across America, their situation results in either running away or being kicked out. According to the TrueColorsFund website, homelessness is experienced by over 1.5 million youth a year, and up to 40% are LGBT. Considering the LGBT community is far smaller than 40% of the entire youth population, a problem is obviously occurring. To extend, the leading cause of homelessness is family disputes over the child’s sexuality (Durso and Gates 4). When a child tells their parents, a negative reaction is expected. In many cases, though, the parents overreact and kick them out because they think abandonment will change their mind and the child will come crawling back. Not accepting their child surrenders them to possibly years on the streets, exposing them to drugs, rape, and prostitution. When their parent’s rejection combines with the common mental health issues of LGBT teens, suicide rates skyrocket. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Nearly one-third (29%) of LGB youth had attempted suicide at least once in the prior year compared to 6% of

Religion and acceptance have a large impact on people in the LGBTQ communities. All anyone has ever wanted was to be accepted for who they are by their friends and family. When this doesn’t happen it can cause stress and thoughts of suicide. If the stress of not being accepted continues there is a possibility that there may be a loss not only with their LGBTQ identity but their spiritual identity as well. Loss of Religious or Spiritual Identities Amoung [sic] the LGBT Population by Andrew William Wood and Abigail Holland Conley ;and The Role of Religion and Stress in Sexual Identity and Mental Health Amoung [sic] Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth by Mathew L. J. Page, Kristin M. Lindahl, and Neena M. Malik are two articles out of the many that

Adolescents in general are often faced with many obstacles throughout their teenage years however; when homosexuality is in the equation this can make issues more complex. Adolescent who do not fit the “norm” because they are questioning their sexuality; they often experience discrimination, substance abuse, higher rates of suicide and victimization. As a result this group is considered to be a high risk population. When communities lack Gay- Straight Alliances also known as GSA adolescents are often shunned and are forced to hide their sexual orientation in social isolation. Increasing GSA support groups will help LBGTQ youths develop a positive self-image.

Being an adolescent is a pivotal and experimental phase for most people. During these years, people are prone to innumerable forms of stressors in their lives. It is not uncommon for this group to face victimization by parents, peers, and so-called friends during their daily lives. Dealing with common stressors may influence teenagers to participate in strain-relieving activities . . .some of which are not always legal. Underage drinking and illicit drug abuse alone are two expanding problems plaguing teens. More often than not, these two behaviors are done simultaneously. This poses an even greater threat to the mental and physical health of those who decide to engage in substance abuse. On the contrary, support groups exist to aid in minimizing risky teen behavior by offering an alternative social environment. Lowered cigarette use, consumption of alcohol, drug misuse, and an overall healthier state are outcomes of an established support group for LGBT students; the positive impression of these groups implemented in schools is reason enough to acknowledge their importance and also encourage expansion into schools that do not have them (Heck et al., 2014).

The more significant the relationship the greater the impact disclosure will have on the LGBTQ’s self-esteem. Studies show that support from family and friends is significant to healthy identity development (3). This process of revealing sexual identity to important relationships can take a long time. Just as it took a while for the LGBTQ to assimilate and process during the pre-coming out phase, family and friends take time to accept the new information

These young adults suggested that they may have employed various strategies to keep their non-conventional family a secret during their early adolescence before developing alternative strategies of disclosure with time. The suggestions proposed by these young adults succinctly describe how the social stigmatization of non-conventional family identity might indirectly affect the development of adolescent children raised by lesbian or gay parents. The development of strategies used to confront this social stigmatization and the later subjective analysis of how those strategies were implemented has overwhelming implications for the opponents of gay and lesbian parents. This research has implications for larger policies regarding lesbian and gay parents within the justice system where parents have been denied custody on the grounds of unfit parenting and subjection to social stigma as well as within the school system where children of lesbian and gay parents might face the greatest social stigmatization. These studies demonstrate that homosexual parents do not directly affect their children’s development and the negative

When we talk about “family,” we are not referring only to people related by genetics or by blood. Families can come in all forms of configurations, including adoptive or foster parents, grandparents, extended family, mentors, or one’s chosen family made up of close friends. Many youth have been rejected by their genetic and adoptive families and need support from other adults. Similarly, “parenting” can be done by a variety of adults in a child’s life, not just by legal parents or guardians (2 Timothy Krause). Young adult who are in the process of coming to a homosexual identity may undergo great mental anguish through worrying about telling their parents. They often hate the idea that they are lying, by omission, to their parents, but also

Inside the homeless youth population, youth who are lesbian, gay, cross-sexual, transgender or addressing (LGBTQ) are at significantly expanded hazard for building up a psychological wellness disorder (Forge, 2014). Reports in discrete studies that adolescent who are According to Hirsch, homeless and LGBTQ youth are at the most astounding danger and in basic need of wellbeing and emotional wellness administrations (Forge, 2014). A connection has been recognized between family dismissal and negative emotional wellness results for youth who are LGBTQ with more than 40 percent of white and Latino lesbian, gay and bi-sexual youth endeavoring suicide at any rate once in their lifetime (Hirsch, 2014). While family dismissal is one connection to psychological

Minority stress is described as the unique stressors which are experienced among sexual minorities, this stress has a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of this population. Sexual minorities may be defined here as individuals who self-identify with a sexual orientation that deviates of the normative orientation of heterosexuality. One minority stressor, internalized heterosexism also known as internalized homophobia, refers to incorporating stigma against sexual minorities into one’s self-concept as a product of social rejection or condemnation of a sexual minority identity (Puckett 2017; Meyer 2003). This concept builds on the stigma and stress literature, and focuses on the stresses experienced particularly among sexual minorities and other minority groups.

In this journal, it is assumed that there is a heterogeneous group of transgender women, and men who have sex with men, have sexual behaviours and gender identities that varies between cultures and among individuals. The increased efficiency of HIV transmission via sexual role adaptability, carrier of sexually transmitted infections, and unprotected anal intercourse as well as behavioural factors that may be associated with condomless sex with multiple partners their sources of increased vulnerability to HIV and other STDs. The authors hypothesized that societal stigmatization of gender non-conformity and homosexual behaviour results in unfavourable feelings that lead to depression, mood disorders and substance abuse, which are basically associated

Part 1: Using peer-reviewed references, describe some of the risk factors for suicide in gay, lesbian, and/or/or bisexual youth in the United States, and how these risk factors are different and the same across these three groups. Provide some data, with original sources, regarding frequency of suicidal ideation, frequency of suicidal attempts, and frequency of suicide completion in these groups. Being part of the LGBT community comes with profound challenges that affect the individuals mentally and psychologically. The Lesbian, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) group are characterized by persons with a contrary view of the prevailing norm of sexuality that is practiced by the majority of the society who are heterosexual (Boswell, 1999). The primary concern is the mortality rates for the LGB individuals which are attributed suicide cases due to the external pressures that they are faced with. Suicide is an individual’s voluntary and intentional act of taking their life away when one feels hopeless and helpless (Rhoads, 1994). Most deaths that occur in the LGB groups are as a result of several individual, relationship, and societal factors that a person is exposed to. Research has indicated that three times the number of LGB youth commit suicide compared to their heterosexual peers (MA, Department of Education, 2006). Additionally, recent study by Grossman and D’Augelli (2007) gave evidence that 45% of the LGB youth contemplated suicide and 26% had attempted