Nearly Half of Gay and Bisexual Teens Considered Suicide Last Year: CDC
newsweek.comCDC's new "Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey," which assesses the impact of the pandemic on young Americans.Some 46.8 percent of teenagers who identified as homosexual or bisexual said that they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the first six months of 2021, while 26.3 of all teenagers who identified as homosexual or bisexual said that they had attempted suicide in that time period.Many teenagers who defined their sexuality as "other or questioning" seriously considered suicide over the first six months of last year, some 39.5 percent of them, with 16.5 percent attempting suicide during those months.Meanwhile, 13.6 percent of teenagers who identified as heterosexual said they had seriously considered suicide and 5.2 percent had attempted to take their own lives during that time.Both the 'Gay, lesbian, or bisexual' and 'Other or questioning' groups of teenagers were more likely than heterosexual teens to feel less close to people at school and less virtually connected to others during the pandemic.
Straight teens were less likely to feel persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness and were less likely to report poor mental health than the other two groups.The CDC said all young people need good access to mental health care, as well as connections with trusted adults and supportive peers.
The agency also recommended making teens engage in community activities, as it this been shown to improve feelings of connectedness and general mental health.
It is also shown to reduce risk for suicide and other health risk behaviors.Newsweek has contacted the Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ communities, to comment on the data.The data also.
