Relationships can save lives: How safe adults can help reduce suicidality in LGBTQ+ Youth
By: Elizabeth Earnshaw, LMFT
The quality of our lives are influenced by the quality of our relationships. That is true across the spectrum of human life. When we feel supported, loved, and affirmed we are better able to navigate the challenges of life. Having good relationships helps strengthen the "immune system" of our mental health.
Mental Health Disparities in LGBTQ+ Youth
Unfortunately, many LGBTQ+ youth feel isolated, alone, and rejected due to caregiver's rejecting their identity and bullying from peers at school and within other areas of their lives. According to Inner Body, LGB youth are five times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth. 40% of transgender adults reported making a suicide attempt, 90% of those attemps happened before the age of 25. LGBTQ+ youth who have attempted suicide have reported fewer social support resources and more negative relationships than youth who have not.
(Rosario, 2005).
The Power of Relationships
Mental health disparities among LGBTQ+ youth results from experiences of discrimination and rejection from others (Meyers,2003). Safe and accepting relationships reduce suicide attempts in LGBTQ+ youth. Mental health is shown to improve when LGBTQ+ youth experience affirmation, acceptance, and love.LGBTQ youth who report having at least one accepting adult were 40% less likely to report a suicide attempt (The Trevor Project, 2019).This makes sense, right? We all do better when we are accepted and loved and affirmed and life feels much harder and more bleak when we feel alone and unsupported.
How to be a supportive adult in the life of LGBTQ+ Youth:
Young people need the support and love of adults. Having safe adults helps them to develop a healthy sense of self, feel safe by knowing they have a safety net to go to when needed, and feel connected to others. It's also how they learn to develop their own relationships in adult life, through mirroring those healthy relationships they experienced with adults in childhood. The same is true for all children. Unfortunately, LGTBQ+ youth often face barriers to finding strong connections with affirming and accepting adults. This leaves them to be uncertain about whether or not they are lovable, a feeling of being untethered to anything, which is particularly challenging when you face a stressful moment in which you need help, and completely alone.
How adults can show support of LGBTQ+ youth in their lives:
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine ((Sanders & Fields), there are steps adults can take to be a support system for LGBTQ+ youth in their lives:
*Let them know they are loved
*Encourage Dialogue
*Learn the facts
*Stay involved in their school & other places of gathering. Encourage the school to create inclusivity & look out for bullying
*Create a team of people that have your child's back
*Support them as they form their own relationships
Sources:
Meyer, I.H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129( 5), 674-697.
Rosario, Margaret & Schrimshaw, Eric & Hunter, Joyce. (2005). Psychological Distress Following Suicidality Among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths: Role of Social Relationships. Journal of youth and adolescence. 34. 149-161. 10.1007/s10964-005-3213-y.
Sanders, R., & Fields, E. L. (n.d.). Tips for Parents of LGBTQ Youth. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/tips-for-parents-of-lgbtq-youth.
The Trevor Project. (2019). National Survey on LGBTQ Mental Health. New York, New York: The Trevor Project.
Philadelphia and West Chester Therapist
Elizabeth is a Philadelphia therapist supporting couples and individuals struggling with unhealthy relationships, setting boundaries, infidelity and life stressors. Elizabeth is the Director of A Better Life Therapy where you can find counseling support for mental health and relationship issues in Pennsylvania.