Better Dead Than gay? Depression, Suicide Ideation and Attempt Among a Sample of gay and Straight-Identified Males Aged 18 to 24

Previous research on gay youth has estimated the rate of attempted suicide in this population at between 20 & 42%. This research has been criticized as being mostly uncontrolled & biased. The study reported here, however, uses a matched sample of 57 gay & 54 straight males & finds gay youth are 3.7 times more likely to attempt suicide. Correlates of suicide attempts within the gay subsample included sexual assault, experiences of violence, low levels of paternal support, & precocious sexual identity development. (28 refs.)