This study explored the prevalence, disparity, and cohort trends in suicidality among bisexual teens vs. heterosexual and gay/lesbian peers in 9 population-based high school surveys in Canada and the U.S. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to calculate age-adjusted odds ratios separately by gender; 95% confidence intervals tested cohort trends where surveys were repeated over multiple years. Results showed remarkable consistency: bisexual youth reported higher odds of recent suicidal ideation and attempts vs. heterosexual peers, with increasing odds in most surveys over the past decade. Results compared to gay and lesbian peers were mixed, with varying gender differences in prevalence and disparity trends in the different regions.
KeywordsSexual orientation; Suicide attempts; Bisexual; Gay; Lesbian; Adolescents; Population Surveys; School-based Surveys; Health Disparities Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents in Canada and the third leading cause of death among adolescents in the United States. More than 1700 adolescents aged 15 to 19 commit suicide each year in Canada and the United States (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2003; National Vital Statistics, 2005). Because research has shown that one of the stronger predictors of completed suicide is a previous suicide attempt ( van Heeringen & Vincke, 2000), identifying sub-groups of adolescents at greater risk for suicide attempts can help direct intervention efforts.Studies from around the world have found that gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) youth are at a significantly higher risk for suicidal ideation and attempts than their heterosexual peers. This increased risk has been documented in the Midwest (Remafedi, French, Story, Resnick & Blum, 1998) and East coast of the United States (Faulker & Cranston, 1998), as well as in New
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NIH-PA Author ManuscriptZealand (Fergusson, Horwood & Beautrais, 1999;Skegg, Nada-Raja, Dickson, Paul & Williams, 2003), Norway (Wichstrom & Hegna, 2003), Guam (Pinhey & Millman, 2004), and Turkey (Eskin, Kaynak-Demir & Demir, 2005). In the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, a national probability sample of U.S. high school students, Russell and Joyner (2001) found that youth with same-sex attractions were more than twice as likely as those with only opposite-sex attractions to attempt suicide. These findings are not limited to adolescents; a national survey of adults in the U.S. also found men with same-gender sexual experience were more than five times as likely as men who reported having sexual experiences exclusively with women to have attempted suicide in their lifetime (Cochran & Mays, 2000).Some experts estimate that the risk of suicidal behaviour faced by GLB youth is two to eight times greater than by heterosexual peers (Bagley & Tremblay, 2000). Generally, this increased risk is found among both boys and girls (Saewyc, Bearinger, Heinz, Blum, Resnick, 1998) but some studies have reported significant gender disparities (P...
