Source: Science Daily (press release), HealthDay via S News & World Report
Lesbian, gay, or bisexual youth who were rejected by their parents suffer from higher rates of depression, attempted suicide, drug use, and are more likely to engage in risky sex, a new scientific study shows.
The lead author of the study said that in cases of rejection, "most of these families feel that being gay is wrong or sinful or the worst thing that could happen," according to HealthDay. "What often doesn't get communicated is that they still love their child."
In a paper to be published in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics, the researchers say negative treatment by parents of their LGB children "dramatically compromises" their later health. In a statement they say their findings have far reaching implications for changing how families relate to their LGB children and how a wide range of providers serve LGB youth.
"For the first time, research has established a predictive link between specific, negative family reactions to their child's sexual orientation and serious health problems for these adolescents in young adulthood such as depression, illegal drug use, risk for HIV infection, and suicide attempts," said Caitlin Ryan, PhD, who is the lead author of the paper.
The new paper was authored by Ryan, Director of the Family Acceptance Project, and her team at the César E. Chávez Institute at San Francisco State University, shows that negative parental behaviors toward LGB children dramatically compromises their health.
"The new body of research we are generating will help develop resources, tools and interventions to strengthen families, prevent homelessness, reduce the proportion of youth in foster care and significantly improve the lives of LGBT young people and their families," Ryan said in a statement.
The study found that LGB young adults who reported higher levels of family rejection during adolescence were 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide, 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression, 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs, and 3.4 times more likely to report having engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse, compared with peers from families that reported no or low levels of family rejection.
Latino males reported the highest number of negative family reactions to their sexual orientation in adolescence.
"In today's often hostile climate for LGBT youth, it is especially important to note that both mental health issues like depression and suicide and HIV risk behaviors were greatly increased by rejection," said Sten Vermund, MD, a pediatrician and Amos Christie Chair of Global Health at Vanderbilt University.
"When put to practical, day-to-day use and shared with families and those who serve LGBT youth, these findings will lead to healthier, more supportive family dynamics and better lives for LGBT young people," Vermund added in a statement released by the research study.
For the study, researchers first talked to 49 white and Latino families in California to determine how they reacted to children who weren't heterosexual. The initial interviews helped them identify what to watch for when they started the main research, US News reports.
In terms of rejection, "we saw that in so many cases, families and caregivers thought what they were doing would help their children have a better life, fit in, belong and be accepted by others," Ryan said, according to US News. "They'd try to change their gender identity, forbid them from spending time with a gay friend, not let them have access to information about what it's like to be a gay, lesbian or bisexual person."
In some cases, parents wouldn't stand up for their children when they had problems at school, Ryan said. "Their parents would say, 'Of course that's going to happen to you.' They'll blame the victim."
After the initial interviews, the researchers surveyed 224 gay, lesbian and bisexual adults, 21 to 25 years old, in the greater San Francisco area. All the participants were white or Latino, and the researchers located them by contacting community groups and visiting bars, clubs, and other nightspots, HealthDay reports. The interviews took place from 2002 to 2005.
Ryan said that later work at Family Acceptance Project found that even a little change in parental behavior appears to have a clear impact on decreasing LGBT young people's risk. Working with ethnically diverse families, project members found that parents and caregivers can modify rejecting behavior once they understand the serious impact of their words and actions on their LGBT children's health, according to Ryan.
"We are using our research to develop a new model of family-related care to decrease the high levels of risk for LGBT young people that restrict life chances and full participation in society," she said.
Stephen T. Russell, director of the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, & Families at the University of Arizona, told HealthDay that the study confirms his suspicions about the harm caused when families reject gay children, but emphasized "It's really important to have research that documents the risk."
Russell echoed study author Ryan by saying that families often think they're doing what's best for their child when they're actually laying for foundation for great harm. "Families do these things because they think it's the right thing to do," he said. "They think it's protecting (their children) and making things better for them."
Source: Family Rejection Of Lesbian, Gay And Bisexual Children Linked To Poor Health In Childhood | Science Daily
Rejection of Gay Teens Linked to Later Troubles | US News (HealthDay)