Psychiatric disorders, suicidality, and personality among young men by sexual orientation

Abstract

Personality and its potential role in mediating risk of psychiatric disorders and suicidality are assessed by sexual orientation, using data collected among young Swiss men (n=5875) recruited while presenting for mandatory military conscription. Mental health outcomes were analyzed by sexual attraction using logistic regression, controlling for five-factor model personality traits and socio-demographics. Homo/bisexual men demonstrated the highest scores for neuroticism-anxiety but the lowest for sociability and sensation seeking, with no differences for aggression-hostility. Among homo/bisexual men, 10.2% fulfilled diagnostic criteria for major depression in the past 2weeks, 10.8% for ADHD in the past 12months, 13.8% for lifetime anti-social personality disorder (ASPD), and 6.0% attempted suicide in the past 12months. Upon adjusting (AOR) for personality traits, their odds ratios (OR) for major depression (OR=4.78, 95% CI 2.81-8.14; AOR=1.46, 95% CI 0.80-2.65) and ADHD (OR=2.17, 95% CI=1.31-3.58; AOR=1.00, 95% CI 0.58-1.75) lost statistical significance, and the odds ratio for suicide attempt was halved (OR=5.10, 95% CI 2.57-10.1; AOR=2.42, 95% CI 1.16-5.02). There are noteworthy differences in personality traits by sexual orientation, and much of the increased mental morbidity appears to be accounted for by such underlying differences, with important implications for etiology and treatment.

Understanding Suicide Attempts Among Gay Men From Their Self-perceived Causes

“…Despite meaningful improvements in social acceptance in recent decades, this process of coming to terms with one's own homosexuality has remained challenging for new generations and offers one explanation as to the persistence of high levels of morbidity-including suicidality-found among sexual minority youth (Wang et al, 2012(Wang et al, , 2014a.…”

“…In accordance with the international literature, Swiss findings have shown that a majority of gay/bisexual men reported one or more of the main forms of suicidality-i.e., suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and suicide attempts-in their lifetime, with every sixth man reporting an attempt to end his life (Wang et al, 2012). In fact, the proportions of gay men thinking about or actually attempting suicide in the past 12 months (Wang et al, 2012(Wang et al, , 2014a correspond to or exceed levels seen among general population or heterosexual men over an entire lifetime (Kjøller and Helweg-Larsen, 2000).…”

Prevalence and predictors of homophobic behavior among high school students in Switzerland

“…Regarding Switzerland, there is evidence that the suicide attempt rate among gay and bisexual male adolescents is 5.1 times higher than among heterosexual male adolescents (Wang et al, 2014). Social and interpersonal problems are among the most common reasons for a suicide attempt (Wang, Plöderl, Häusermann, & Weiss, 2015).…”

Sexually transmitted coinfections in patients with anogenital warts – a retrospective analysis of 196 patients

“…, presumably because women with AGW tend to be treated by gynecologists rather than dermatologists. The percentage of MSM (7.1 %) in our population reflects the proportion of MSM among Swiss men . Sturgiss et al.…”