Age of Minority Sexual Orientation Development and Risk of Childhood Maltreatment and Suicide Attempts in Women

This study investigated relationships between self-reported ages of achieving minority sexual orientation development milestones, childhood maltreatment, & suicide attempt experiences in a sample of 2,001 women recruited from multiple community sources. Younger age was positively linked to self-reported recall of childhood maltreatment experiences & to a childhood suicide attempt. After adjusting for differences in maltreatment, the odds of suicide attempt attributable to younger age of sexual orientation development milestones was reduced by 50% to 65%, suggesting that maltreatment may account for about half of the elevated risk for childhood suicide attempts in this population. Implications for services, interventions, & further research to address maltreatment disparities for sexual minorities are discussed. (94 refs.) JA