LGBT youth are frequently bullied at schools. They frequently get into fights, engage in truancy, and struggle with emotional distress and conduct problems. Peer victimization is one of the leading causes of high-risk sexual behaviors in middle and high school students. Bisexual males and females were also more likely to express depressive symptomology than the heterosexual individuals. Similar trends were replicated in other community surveys. This estrangement can increase the risk of depressive symptoms among sexual minority males. ĭata from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health revealed that sexual minority youth are prone to be isolated and disconnected from the social networks. They were also more likely than heterosexual and non-transgendered youth to report suicidal ideations (30% vs. LGBT youth scored significantly higher on the scale for depressive symptomatology. The respondents’ age ranged between 13 to 19 years in this survey. In a school-based survey conducted in Boston, Massachusetts (n = 1320), 10% of participants identified themselves as LGBT and 58% of them were females. Sexual minority adolescents report a greater incidence of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and increased suicidal behaviors than heterosexual adolescents. We aim to highlight the factors leading to poorer health outcomes, social inequalities, and health care disparities in LGBT youth as compared to their heterosexual counterparts.ĭepression and suicidal risk among discriminated LGBT youth It is shocking to realize that LGBT youth represent up to 40% of all young people experiencing homelessness. They are also at an increased risk of physical or sexual abuse, STDs, and mental health issues. They are also particularly vulnerable to suicidal behaviors. It can lead to an increased risk of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use, and self-destructive behaviors. LGBT youth face a fear of coming out and discrimination because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. It is noteworthy to mention that the lack of appropriate questions pertaining to gender and sexual identity in most national or state surveys makes it difficult to estimate the number of LGBT individuals and their health care needs. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) is an umbrella term which includes a number of groups: lesbian (homosexual woman), gay (homosexual man or woman), bisexual (person who is attracted to both genders), transgender (person who identifies his gender as different from their biological one), queer (a synonym for gay some people prefer to identify themselves as queer to empower themselves and take their identity “back from the bullies”), questioning (people who are unsure about their gender identity/sexuality), intersex (people with two sets of genitalia), asexual (people who are not sexually attracted to anyone and who don’t identify with any orientation), allies (the loving supporters of the community, though not necessarily part of it), two spirits (a tradition in many First Nations that considers sexual minorities to have both male and female spirits), and pansexual (person sexually attracted to others of any sex or gender).
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