Suicide Prevention Among LGBT Youth

1518 Words4 Pages

Intro
Lesbian, gay, transgendered, bi-sexual and those who question their sexuality are discriminated against and in turn, have higher rates of depression. Discrimination in the workplace and in everyday life can be taxing which causes depression to be more prevalent in today's society. In turn, people apart of the LGBTQ community seek therapies, medications and places where they can be heard to ease this burden. Throughout this essay I am hoping to try to find ways for our community to actively prevent this discrimination from continuing. This topic needs extensive research because depression is highly prevalent in this group of the population today.

Literature Review
It is very reasonable to conclude that research on depression of those who identify as gay, lesbian or transsexual is not accurate; there is an underreporting of people who identify as these sexual orientations because of the fear of being different. It is understood that those apart of the LGBTQ community actively hide their identity in hopes to avoid being rejected or abused (Bird, 2013). Once the reporting issue of having a smaller percentage of the actual representation of the LGBTQ population is put aside, there is evidence that highly suggests that lesbians and gay men are at higher risk for psychiatric disorders than heterosexuals (Cochran, 2001). Even after underreporting, there is still enough information to conclude that sexual discrimination can have harmful effects on the quality of life. Common factors that have been observed in lesbians and gays that can potentially increase depression during Cochran's study are anxiety and mood disorders and decreased self esteem. Cochran and her partner also noted that dissatisfaction with how one is treated beca...

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...ne. Retrieved from http://depressiongenetics.stanford.edu/ mddandgenes.html McFarland, W., (1998). Gay, lesbian, and bisexual student suicide. Professional School
Counseling. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&sid=e073936d-4720-404f-bd11-7aa11abe228e%40sessionmgr198&hid=124&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=288452. National Institute of Mental Health (2011). Depression. National Institutes of Health.
Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression/ index.shtml SPRC, (2012). Suicide Prevention among LGBT Youth: A Workshop for Professionals
Who Serve Youth. Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
Retrieved from http://www.sprc.org/training-institute/lgbt-youth-workshop.

The Trevor Project. (2013). Resources. The Trevor Project. Retrieved from http://
www.thetrevorproject.org/section/resorces

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