Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts and Suicide Morbidity Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults in Colombia

Abstract

Purpose: We assessed the association between sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE) experiences and lifetime suicide morbidity among sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups in Colombia. Methods: A sample of 4160 SGM Colombian adults responded to an online crosssectional survey. We used binary logistic regression to assess the relationship between SOGICE and suicide morbidity for the overall sample and stratified by SGM group. Results: We found a high prevalence of suicidal ideation (56%), suicide planning (54%), suicide attempt (25%), and SOGICE experiences (22%). There were significant differences in the prevalence of suicide morbidity and SOGICE experiences across SGM groups, with transgender men and gender nonbinary participants being generally most at risk. SOGICE experiences were associated with 69% increased odds of suicidal ideation, 55% increased odds of suicide planning, and 76% increased odds of suicide attempt. Stratified analyses by SGM group showed that the association of SOGICE experiences with suicide morbidity varied by SGM group, and it was particularly detrimental for cisgender sexual minority men. Conclusions: Suicide morbidity among SGM adults in Colombia is high, with rates that are 8-22 times higher than in the general population. SOGICE experiences further exacerbate suicide risk. The study findings highlight the need to design and implement policies affirming diverse sexual orientation and gender identities in Colombia and to ban SOGICE practices. These findings also highlight the importance of recognizing the variability within SGM groups and the need to examine these groups separately rather than treating them as a monolithic group.

Absence of Behavioral Harm Following Non-efficacious Sexual Orientation Change Efforts: A Retrospective Study of United States Sexual Minority Adults, 2016–2018

“…Yet Blosnich et al (2021), for example, dismissed concerns that morbidity may have predated SOCE exposure in advocating a ban on SOCE due to its association with higher lifetime suicidal morbidity. Other recent studies have presented the same flawed form of argument (Ryan et al, 2020;Salway et al, 2020;del Río-González et al, 2021) that persons undergoing SOCE are more exposed, as a group, to minority stressors, which in turn induce greater personal harm. Blosnich et al (2020Blosnich et al ( , p. 1027Blosnich et al ( -1028, for example, attributed harm from SOCE to "the construct of perceived burdensomeness" resulting from minority stress, calling for further investigation into "specific constructs and mechanisms (e.g., enacted stigma, internalized stigma, and identity concealment) that could incite perceived burdensomeness and create the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among survivors of SOCE."…”

Substance use, racial/ethnic identity, and suicidal ideation during COVID-19 lockdown in an international adult sample

“…We also found that lesbian and gay adults endorsed significantly greater odds of experiencing suicidal ideation almost every day during COVID-19 lockdown compared to heterosexual peers. Despite the dearth of literature examining sexual minority disparities in suicidality in Saudi Arabian and Indian samples, reports from other sexual minority samples suggest that sexual minority adults experience greater suicide risk due to multiple factors ( del Río-González et al, 2021 ; Nystedt et al, 2019 ; Suran, 2021 ). For sexual minority adults, syndemic factors such as stigmatizing and oppressive interpersonal and legislative acts, inadequate access to mental health services, and the politicization of public health may further exacerbate the existing disparities in suicidality risk ( Gibb et al, 2020 ).…”

“Extremely toxic and evil” reflections on gender identity change efforts by Christian religious leaders: Implications for therapy with transgender and nonbinary clients

“…Gender identity change efforts (GICE), which seek to alter a transgender and/or nonbinary person's gender identity to be a cisgender identity, have been found to cause psychological and relational trauma (Del Río‐González et al, 2021; Goodyear et al, 2022; Green et al, 2020; Heiden‐Rootes et al, 2022; Turban et al, 2020). However, these practices continue to be used by therapists, and there are multiple states in the United States that do not have legal restrictions on the practice of GICE, leaving transgender and nonbinary people, especially transgender and nonbinary youth, at risk of being harmed (Green et al, 2020; Kinitz et al, 2022; Turban et al, 2019).…”