Transgender Youth Suicide

Case Study 14.1: David’s coming Out Process 1. What are the developmental challenges for sexual minority youth, as articulated in David’s story? David’s story points out the complicated lives that LGBTQ youth experience, youth who identify as transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide, and studies show that that higher risk stems from their experiences of discrimination and victimization. David’s journey as a gay teen reveals the challenges some young people face just for being who they are.

This is in direct correlation with the increased probability of mental illnesses in the transgender population. Traditional views certainly do not help as many transgender citizens are told they are “sick” because of their difference with many religious and personal beliefs. A study from Boston published earlier this year in the Journal of Adolescent Health, reported that transsexual youth had two to three times increased risk of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, self-harm without lethal intent, and both inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment. These statistics show the clear consequences of mental health transgenders are facing if transgender rights continues to be unregulated. It is essential that the federal government steps in to take action in order to make sure things do not continue on this downwards path.

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

Over thirty percent of adult and young adult transgender individuals have attempted suicide in 2014, according to suicidology.com, so creating an accepting and encouraging environment is vital for transgender people thrive.

LGBTQ youth in particular are at high risk for suicide attempts and completions. In the largest national survey of transgender adults to date,

In the United States Transgender women (individuals who are sex-assigned male at birth but identify as female) experience high rates of severe depression due to pervasive discrimination that they face in society. According to Hoffman (2014), when compared to the general population, Transgender individuals experience much higher rates of depression with estimates as high as 62% (as cited in Clements-Noel, Marx, Guzman, and Katz, 2001). Due to these high rates of depression, Transgender women are at increased risk for overall negative health outcomes, which severely limits them from living happy, healthy, and productive lives. According to studies by Nemoto, Operario, Keatley, Nguyen, and Sugano, (2005) there is a growing understanding of the

The first source, “Suicidality Among Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth,” researches a study of 21,927 sexually active students in the grades 9 through

Did you know that more than 50% of transgender minors have admitted to attempting suicide? How about that 82% of transgender youth feel unsafe or scared at school? These statistics are high, too high. Transgender is defined as of, relating to, or being a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person's sex at birth, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary. Years ago it was considered bad to be transgender, but our society has become more open-minded, leading to the coming outs of many more transgender minors. However, while it seems as though we are more open-minded, transgender youth are still being mistreated, to a point where suicide sometimes seems like the only good

Transgender individuals are at higher risk for “certain chronic diseases, cancers, and mental health problems (Vanderbilt University, 2017).” Transgender individuals who consume cross-sex hormones, and undergo sex-reassignment surgery have a greater risk for depression, anxiety, STDs, mental health issues, suicide attempts, victimization, and substance abuse (Grant, Mottet, Tanis, 2011), additionally, they usually do not have health insurance (Makadon, 2017). Furthermore, HIV rates are reported “over four times the national average of HIV infection, with higher rates among transgender people of color (Grant, Mottet, Tanis, 2011).”

LGBT population have higher rates of depression among the youth. Statistics of depression compared between LGBT and the general population in Australia depicts that 57.2% of transgender and gender diverse were diagnosed of depression and 11.6 % had experience depression in their lifetime respectively (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007). Moreover, mental health among the LGBT is known to be poor in Australia as 36.2% of transgender and 24.4% of gay, lesbians and bisexual Australians met the scale of having major depression in 2005, and 6.8% when compared to the general population. Dejection among transgender women (male to female) under age 30 was on a high rate in La Trobe university study constitute

This states that a majority of transgender people have attempted suicide. Suicide in the transgender world is seen many times when speaking of discrimination. Many transgender teens think of suicide or commit suicide because they are targeted or even bullied because of their way of expression what they feel is their true gender. Transgender or transsexual also chose or attempt suicide because they are abandoned by their families or are forced out of their homes. But they do not just choose to commit suicide but also allow themselves to be addicted to drugs of many sorts. This can cause many transgender or transsexual people to consider suicide. These factors are due to discrimination or negate of protection of a transsexual or transgender person. Many transgender people have chosen to fight for rights in many sorts of ways. But because of their birth given gender, there is not many things that can be done by parents or even teachers.This is a violation of the seventh amendment because many choose to see that transgender or transsexual people choose to make themselves targets of bullying of hate crimes. This can be the main reason many students stay silent and let themselves be discriminated without telling others because they start to believe that their own thoughts are

The transgender community experiences an unusually high suicide attempt rate of 90% and a suicide rate of 40%. These numbers along with Dr. McHughs “mental disorder” diagnosis show a small glimpse of the ongoing stressors and emotional distress that transgenders deal with. The extremely high rate is concerning and can’t be overlooked. When compared to the 3% suicide rate that the military experiences and 1.5% national average it’s easy to see that the stress, anxiety, and emotional distress in the transgender community is great and could greatly affect their ability to think clearly and respond appropriately

Suicide is a health problem in the U.S. today. The LGBTQ teens are said to be twice as likely to commit suicide then heterosexual teens. It is stated that not all suicide attempts are a facet of the person being Gay, BI, or transgender. However, many factors can contribute to suicide, such as: hopelessness, major depression, impulsivity, past suicide attempts, conduct disorder, victimization, or rejection. Hence, the risk is higher for rejected youths well into their adulthood. I think the factors that make the LGBTQ teens more risk for suicide is bullying, cyberbullying, self-identification or loss of friendships due their sexual identifications, or orientation, and rejection from their peers, or rejection from their parents/families. Support

This study assessed individual structural forms of stigma as risk factors for suicide attempts among transgender adults. Internalized transphobia was analyzed through a combination of results such as a 26-item scale including four dimensions: pride, passing, alienation, and shame. State-level statistical structural stigma was operationalized as a composite index. Outsourcing a multivariable logistic generalized estimating equation models assessed associations of interest among an online sample of transgender adults (N= 1,229) representing 48 states and the District of Columbia. This is a helpful source for current stigma at multiple levels in order to reduce the vulnerability of

LGBTQ youth are also at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, suicide attempts, and suicide. A nationally representative study of adolescents in grades 7–12 found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide as their heterosexual peers. More studies are needed to better understand the risks for suicide among transgender youth. However, one study with 55 transgender youth found that about 25% reported suicide