Psychopathology - Suicide in Gay and Lesbian Adolescents - Thesis Example

Psychopathology - Suicide in Gay and Lesbian Adolescents Introduction Adolescence is a difficult and challenging period for young people. One of the most important features is forming ones sexual identity. Usually all children try to search and understand sex characteristic as part of normal growth. It is possible that sexual tendencies may be with members of the same or opposite sex. Many adolescents experimenting with the same sex may cause fear and anxiety about their sexual orientation. But homosexuality is the relentless sexual and emotional appeal to someone of the same sex. It is considered as a part of the sexual expression. Since the start of world and across cultures homosexuality has existed. Modern transforms in societys approach toward homosexuality have supported some gay and lesbian teens think more contented with their sexual orientation. Almost all aspects of their growth, they are comparable to heterosexual adolescents (AACAP, 1998). One of the leading causes of death among Gay and Lesbian adolescents is suicide. According to the research information and coroner reports, rarely reveal how suicidal conduct is linked to sexual orientation or individuality matters. As a matter of fact this subject is overlooked in the literature. But recent studies created a grave concern about the suicidal deaths, with homosexual adolescents and adults. Summary Maximum of suicide attempt by homosexuals take place at their adolescence, and it is two to three times more than the attempt of suicide among adults. As the youth comes to know their orientation as gay in an early stage, the bigger the dissent they have. It is difficult for the gay adolescents to accept themselves as gay because of the internalization of a pessimistic sense of self and the lack of perfect knowledge regarding homosexuality in adolescence. Over and above gay youth suffer great physical and oral ill-treatment, denial and separation from family and peers. They habitually feel loneliness and communally inhibited out of fear of unfavorable consequences. Because of these anxiety, lesbian and gay youth are more susceptible than other adolescents to psychosocial harms as well as substance abuse, constant despair, school failure, and having to live on their own too early. These problems have a risk factor towards suicidal stance and conduct within gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual youth. The main reason for gay and lesbian youth suicide in a social order is because of the separation from the community, brand as disgraceful homosexuals, and failure to know that a large number of its youth has a gay or lesbian orientation. Hence legislation must ensure homosexuals equal rights in the society. There is need to promote an optimistic picture of homosexuals at all levels. Families should learn regarding the growth and optimistic life of homosexuality. Educational institutions need to incorporate information about homosexuality in the syllabus and defend gay youth from exploitation by peers to make sure they get an equal education. Statistical Outline The huge rate of suicidal tendency among lesbians and gay men are on the rise. According to Jay and Young (1977) 40 percent of gay males and 39 percent of lesbians reviewed had attempted or seriously considered suicide. Another study conducted by Bell and Weinberg (1978) showed that 35 percent of gay males and 38 percent of lesbians gravely thought or tried to suicide. As per the estimation homosexuals chances of suicide are more than the heterosexuals and most of these attempts take place in their adolescence. The studies indicate that gay males were 6 times more liable to make suicide attempt than heterosexual males and in the case of lesbians, more than twice comparing to the heterosexual. Most of the suicide attempts by homosexuals happened at age 20 or younger. Since 1950 to 1980, there was a rise of more than 170 percent in suicides by youth between the ages of 15 and 24 (CDCCEH, 1986). Actually, gay and lesbian youth have been unseen group among the adolescent and young adults. Information from the Institute for the Protection of Gay and Lesbian Youth in New York, the University of Minnesota Adolescent Health Program in Minneapolis, Roesler and Deisher in Seattle, and the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center show that 20-35 percent of gay youth interrogated have made suicide attempts (Avicoili, 1986) (Remafedi, 1985) (Roesler, and Deisher, 1972) (LASPC, 1986). Data’s from Minneapolis, Los Angeles and San Francisco show that more than 50 percent of gay youth reveal suicidal tendency with grave despair (LSYC, 1984). Now the question is that why are the tendency to harm oneself and suicidal conduct so common among gay and lesbian youth? How can the society learn to know these youth better and assist them more efficiently in managing the troubles that habitually lead them to end their own lives? Tasks of the Gay Adolescent The homosexual youth face dangers of overcoming adolescence and keeping a positive identity as a lesbian or gay male, in an unfriendly and critical background. Opposite to usual conviction, adolescence is not the time of the lives. It is a difficult phase of growth filled with concern and some apparent strategy for supporting youth resolve the troubles they come across, and make the evolution to adulthood. Adolescents are undergoing the physical changes, emotional changes, intellectual changes and sexual growth all within the background of their customs, family, peer group, and aptitude as persons. They have to accomplish a number of alarming responsibilities comprising separating from their home, at the same time as retaining the wisdom of belonging (individuation), knowledge to form relations with other people (socialization), creating an incorporated, optimistic, personal uniqueness (identity formation) and organizing themselves for the future in intricate and indecisive world (future orientation). Managing these responsibilities play a significant part in the suicidal tendencies of any youth, however, present special adversity for those who are gay or lesbian. First of all they must come to appreciate and believe themselves in a society that offers them with the constructive information about who they are and optimistic response to their inquiries. Secondly, they must get support in the middle of significant people who normally discard them. Lastly, they must create a social version to their gay or lesbian identity. They have to discover where they fit in and how they get accommodated with in a social constitution. As the understanding of sexual perception and with the advent of the sexual rebellion and gay freedom movement of the past two decades, gay and lesbian youth have been more aware of their positions and understanding their orientation at an earlier age than before. This happens even as the adolescents are still living at home with their family, attending public school and raising wisdom of their own self-confidence in contrast with their peers and the outlook of the social order as a whole. Problems Facing Gay Youth It is a fact that lesbian and gay adolescence are the majority of unseen and outcast cluster among young people who face terrific exterior disagreements with family and peers. A lot of gay youth prefer to preserve a facade and conceal their factual feelings and identity, causing them to lead a double life, rather than tackle conditions that hurt them. They are always worried and live in continuous panic of being found out and recognized as gay. It is a real fact that gay youth are the ones who face complete denial from their family unit without any support. Lots of families are incapable to resolve their childs sexual distinctiveness with ethical and spiritual values. Huckleberry House in San Francisco, a deserter refuge for adolescents, recorded that gay and lesbian youth suffered extra prevalence of oral and bodily mistreatment from parents and peers than the normal other youth (HH, 1982). They were forced to leave their homes rather than running away by themselves. A study carried out by Remafedi shows that half among the young gay had experienced depressing parental response to their sexual orientation and 26 percent compelled to leave home for the reason that of quarrel over their sexual identity (Remafedi, 1985) . Gay and lesbian youth experience harassment and abuse in junior and high schools. A study conducted by The National Gay Task Force, stated that 45 percent of gay males and nearly 20 percent of lesbians had suffered oral or physical attack in secondary schools (NGTF, 1984). The embarrassment of mockery and panic of attack makes school a scared place to go that cause recurrent absences and at times educational failure. Remafedi reports 28 percent of his gay students were compelled to drop out because of difference in their sexual orientation (Remafedi, 1985). Lots of gay adolescents complain severe isolation and the loss of intimate friends. Further, gay adolescence stand for unfairness in connections with the adolescent justice system and group home residency. Several families and group residencies decline to allow or keep an adolescent who is gay. In a statement by the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Commission reveal that gay youth stay in custody longer than other youth expecting placement as of lack of suitable program resources (SFJJC, 1982). Several programs are incapable to deal with the anxieties or assert the uniqueness of a gay adolescent. The chances of targeting them to verbal, physical, and even sexual abuse are high. Very often they become isolated, unnoticed by the youth and staff. They are the target group who could be blamed easily as the basis of the trouble in an effort to force them to leave. Because of the refusal and mistreatment in most of the areas of their lives is upsetting for lesbian and gay youth and possibly are the grave evils they face emotionally. For example, if some one says to a person that ‘you are sick, bad, and wrong for being what you are, he begin to believe it. Homosexual youth have often internalized a pessimistic picture of themselves. For those people who conceal their identities are encircled by homophobic outlook and comments, often by unknowing family members and peers that have a deep effect on them. Hank Wilson, founder of the Gay and Lesbian Teachers Coalition in San Francisco, considers these youth represent a huge group who are wordlessly scapegoated, particularly susceptible to being branded as disgraceful, and have poor self regard (Wilson, 1985). Gay adolescents become scared and reserved. Comparing to other adolescents, they feel loneliness often suffer from constant dejection, desperate of life that will always be as painful and hard. It is observed that Lesbian and gay male youth belong to two groups are at danger for substance abuse: homosexuals and adolescents. It is established that Lesbians and gay men are at great risk than the heterosexual people for alcohol abuse. More or less 30 percent of both the lesbian and gay male youths have troubles with alcoholism (Rofes, 1983). Usually substance use instigates in early adolescence as youth first experience difference about their sexual orientation. At the beginning it provides the convenient reason of (Jay, and Young, 1977)reducing the pain and concern of external conflicts and (Bell and Weinberg, 1978) reducing the internal embarrassment of homosexual feelings and actions. But extended substance abuse can add to the youths troubles and increase suicidal tendencies. Some researches have established that most of gay youth received specialized help for conflicts that linked to their sexual uniqueness (Remafedi, 1985) (Roesler, and Deisher, 1972). Such interferences normally deteriorate conditions for these youth since the therapist or councilor is reluctant to recognize or support the adolescents homosexual identity. There are many cases of gay and lesbian youth who are forced to alter their identities under the pretext of treatment into therapy and mental hospitals. Those who look for help at the same time as hiding their identity habitually find the basis of their conflicts is not at all resolved as the therapist is incapable to find out the reason. Towards the gay youth if the attitude of the families and friends are hostile and uncaring, they decide to leave the home and a suicide attempt can be the last resort. They go to bigger cities eager to find families and friends to substitute the ones that could not recognize them. Almost 25 percent of adolescents are gay male, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual youth living on the streets of this country. Endorsed with an outcast status causes further increased the risk of suicide. As there is no adequate education or professional training, large numbers of them are getting involved in prostitution in order to survive. They suffer from physical and sexual attack on regular basis and continuous contact to sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. They are usually involved in a small gay community, which offers them little optimism for a better life. For large number of street youth, the effort for survival becomes too difficult and causes them engaging in more and more self-destructive behaviors as well as dangerous sexual activity and intravenous drug use. Besieged by the intricacies of street life and sentiment they have arrived at may result in a suicide attempt. Even as it has happen to be easier in modern times to be a gay male or lesbian adult it might be more difficult than ever to be a gay adolescent. As they have to face all conflicts and also with the problems in accepting themselves, coming out to families and peers, establishing themselves too early in self-sufficient living and, face up to the haunting presence of AIDS, there is a great risk that their survival are going to be a catastrophic terrible living. Risk Factors in Gay and Lesbian Youth Suicide The risk factors Gay young people face is the similar risk factors for suicidal tendency for other youth. Generally this comprises of family problems, failure of love affairs, social isolation, failure at school, and identity conflicts. Nevertheless, these features presume significance as the youth has a gay or lesbian orientation. Jay and Young reported that 53 percent of gay males and 33 percent of lesbians assessed alleged their suicide attempts concerned their homosexuality (Jay, and Young, 1977). Bell and Weinberg report that 58 percent of gay males and 39 percent of lesbians think that their initial suicide attempts were linked to their homosexuality (Bell and Weinberg, 1978). Suicide attempts by gay and lesbian adolescents are possible to entail conflicts around their sexual orientation as the devastating stress they come across in coming out and managing their lives at an early age. Bell and Weinberg stated that early suicide attempts linked to homosexuality more often concerned acceptance of self and disagreements with others for gay males, as lesbians are inclined to mention troubles with lovers as the reason (Bell and Weinberg, 1978). Self acceptance may be particularly crucial for young gay males who incline to have homosexual experiences and are conscious of their orientation at an earlier age than lesbians (Bell, Weinberg, and Hammersmith, 1981). Adolescent lesbians may come across severe social isolation, frequently reporting an absence of same-sex experiences. They as well become victims of strong social pressures to complete the womans usual role of marrying and having children and may cause added despair connected to non commitment of social obligation. Concerning lovers may be in particular crucial for adolescent lesbians as their sexuality is normally searched within the background of their early intimate associations. Having an early awareness about of a gay or lesbian orientation, the greater the troubles they face and more liable the danger of suicidal stance and manners. Remafedi examines that gay adolescents may be at the maximum threat for dysfunction owing to poignant and physical immaturity, displeased growth needs for recognition with a peer group, not have enough understanding, and addiction on parents reluctant or not capable to give emotional support (Remafedi, 1985). Various Research Results Research shows that the history of suicide can be observed back to the Old Testament where people killed themselves in acts of great courage. The book of Emile Durkheim’s ‘Suicide’ in 1897 examined the social reasons and common nature of suicide, which initiated the study of suicide by sociologists, psychologists, and physicians (Minois, 1999). But it has only few years back that are within the last twenty-five years, that the study of youth suicide has become common. Further, just in the last six years the suicide among gay/lesbian/bisexual adolescents has started to be observed by means of population-based studies. Owing to the modern surfacing of study in the area of adolescence suicide among the gay/lesbian/bisexual people, and consequently the imperfect amount of known information in this area, adding up to this field is critical and essential. The significance of investigation in the region of adolescence suicide is self-evident. Information from the year 2001 records suicide death at the eleventh place in the United States, however, the third ranking cause of death for youths ages fifteen through twenty-four (McIntosh, 2003). The first study to observe the connection between sexual orientation and health-risk behaviors of school-based adolescents was of (Garofalo et al.1998). Out of 4,159 ninth to twelfth graders in an arbitrary, Massachusetts state-wide sample (1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey), 104 learners self-identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, 2.5% of the population. There was a major disparity between the percentage of suicide attempts made by the gay/lesbian/bisexual students, 35.3%, and the non-gay/lesbian/bisexual students, 9.9%. This was a significant research result since it was one of the first to use a large sample of adolescents, unlike previous studies, which had used opportunistic, non envoy models, and it as well presented a contrast cluster. In the year1999 New Zealand longitudinal study of 1,265 young, starting at birth and observing children to age twenty-one, established that by age twenty-one, 67.9% of gay/lesbian/bisexual group had accounted suicidal inclination, as compared to 28.0% of the heterosexual group, and 32.1% had showed making minimum one suicide attempt, in contrast to 7.1% of the heterosexual group, both statistically noteworthy variations (Fergusson, Horwood, & Beautrais, 1999). This study is imperative since it is the only large-scale longitudinal report of sexual orientation and suicidal tendency (Russell, 2003). The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health reported that adolescents with same-sex orientation were at major threat for suicidal feelings, considerably more liable to report suicidal inclination, and twice more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers (Russell and Joyner, 2001). Victimization was seen to be linked with suicidal tendency equally for all youths. Over and above other risk factors, normally, linked to suicide were depression, alcohol abuse, and family suicide history. McDaniel, Purcell, and D’Augelli (2001) evaluated studies of the rates of suicide and attempted suicide among the gay/lesbian/bisexual people as compared to the common population, and observed high risk of suicide attempts within gay/lesbian/bisexual adolescents, mainly males. As per the results of the study, it is quite liable that lots of gay/lesbian/bisexual youths may have finished suicide without being revealed their sexual orientation, identity, and hence the numbers of completed suicide in that population is misjudged. Yet another study, Bontempo and D’Augelli (2002) observed the connection among at-school ill-treatment and health menace behaviors in a large sample of gay/lesbian/bisexual and heterosexual youths. Gay/lesbian/bisexual students who reported high levels of at-school ill-treatment showed elevated levels of suicidal behavior than their heterosexual peers who also faced high levels of at-school ill-treatment. The students reported low levels of at-school ill-treatment, Showed the levels of suicidal tendency same as their heterosexual peers who also faced low levels of at-school ill-treatment. This study signifies that differences in suicidal activity among gay/lesbian/bisexual youths are mediator by ill-treatment at school. Conclusion At Present, there are no available studies of suicide avoidance or intrusion programs that intended for gay/lesbian/bisexual youth (Russell, 2003). Precedent research has revealed that gay/lesbian/bisexual youths are at a greater threat for suicide. The future research needs to concentrate on the risk and defending factors, in addition to potential avoidance and intervention approaches. What the elders and parents required to understand is the fact that homosexual orientation is not a psychological disorder. Even though the causes of homosexuality are not fully understood a persons sexual orientation is not a matter of choice. It means that the individuals have no alternative about being homosexual or heterosexual. All adolescents do have a choice about their expression of sexual conduct and lifestyle, despite their sexual orientation (AACAP, 1998). References AACAP, (1998). Gay And Lesbian Adolescents All Family Resources. Retrieved March 12, 2008, from: http://www.familymanagement.com/facts/english/facts63.html Avicoili, T. (1986). Coming Out of the Dark Ages: Social Workers Told of Special Youth Needs. Philadelphia Gay News. May 9, 1986. Bell, A and Weinberg, M. (1978) Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women. New York: Simon and Schuster. Bell, A., Weinberg, M. and Hammersmith, S.( 1981). Sexual Preference: Its Development In Men and Women. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press Bontempo, D.E., & D’Augelli, A.R. (2002). Effects of at-school victimization and sexual orientation on lesbian, gay, or bisexual youths’ health risk behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health, 30, 364-374 Centers for Disease Control. Center for Environmental Health. Youth Suicide Surveillance Report. Department of Health and Human Services. Atlanta, 1986. Fergusson, D.M., Horwood, L.J., & Beautrais, A.L. (1999). Is Sexual Orientation related to mental health problems and suicidality in young people? Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 876-880. Garofalo, R., Wolf, R.C., Kessel, S., Palfrey, J., & DuRant, R.H. (1998). The association between health risk behaviors and sexual orientation among a school based sample of adolescents. Pediatrics, 101, 895-902. Huckleberry House. Client Statistics. San Francisco, CA 1982. Jay, K. and Young, A (1977) The Gay Report: Lesbians and Gay Men Speak Out About Their Sexual Experiences and Lifestyles. New York: Summit. Larkin Street Youth Center. Client Statistics. San Francisco, CA 1984. Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center. Problems of Suicide Among Lesbian and Gay Adolescents. Preliminary Data. Los Angeles: Unpublished, 1986 McIntosh, J.L. (2003). U.S.A. suicide: 2001 Official final data. Retrieved March 12, 2003 from American Association of Suicidology website: http://www.suicidology.org/associations/1045/files/2011datapg.pdf  McDaniel, J. S., Purcell, J., & D’Augelli, A. R. (2001). The relationship between sexual orientation and risk for suicide: Research findings and future directions for research and prevention. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 31, 84-105. Minois, Georges (1999). History of Suicide: Voluntary death in western culture. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. National Gay Task Force. Anti-Gay/Lesbian Victimization. New York, 1984 Remafedi, G. (1985). Male Homosexuality: The Adolescents Perspective. Adolescent Health Program, University of Minnesota: Unpublished. Roesler, T. and Deisher, R. (1972) Youthful Man Homosexuality. Journal of the American Medical Association. Feb. 21, 1972: 1018-1023 Rofes, E. (1983) I Thought People Like That Killed Themselves: Lesbians, Gay Men and Suicide. San Francisco: Grey Fox. Russell, S.T. (2003). Sexual minority youth and suicide risk. American Behavioral Scientist, 46, 1241-1257 Russell, S.T., & Joyner, K. (2001). Adolescent sexual orientation and suicide risk: Evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 1276-1281 San Francisco Juvenile Justice Commission. Problems for Gay and Lesbian Youth Involved With the Juvenile Court. San Francisco, 1982. Wilson, H. (1985.) Personal Interview. Community Activist and Cofounder of the Gay and Lesbian Teachers Coalition. San Francisco. Read More