The findings confirm earlier, smaller studies suggesting that homosexual and bisexual men and women face a higher risk of attempted and completed suicide.
Dr Jay Paul and colleagues conducted telephone interviews with 2,881 urban gay or bisexual men in four US cities - San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles - between 1996 and 1998. The researchers from the University of California in San Francisco found that just over 21 per cent had made a suicide plan and 12 per cent had attempted suicide. Almost half of those who had attempted suicide were multiple attempters. "These rates are staggering, and highlight the cost of pervasive anti-gay stigmatization and victimization," said Dr Paul, lead author of the study.
This compares with previous studies that estimate around 9-15 per cent of all males consider suicide and about 1.5-3 per cent actually attempt suicide. Retrospective comparisons of different age groups of gay and bisexual men showed that, although the rate of suicide has remained constant, the mean age at initial attempts has fallen.
Most who attempted suicide made their first attempt before the age of 25. Repeated anti-gay harassment was reported by 52 per cent in the youngest age group, compared with 28 per cent in the older age group. Dr Paul and co-workers suggest that gay and bisexual people who "come out" early are under more pressure and are less emotionally resilient, which may turn some individuals to suicide. "This increased suicide risk cannot be resolved solely by mental health interventions, but instead requires changes in the environment in which kids come to maturity such that societal discrimination and harassment are not tolerated," the US team concluded.
The research is published in the American Journal of Public Health.
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