Citation

Blosnich JR, Lytle MC, Coulter RWS, Whitfield DL. Arch. Suicide Res. 2017; 22(4): 542-554.

Affiliation

School of Social Work , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, International Academy of Suicide Research, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13811118.2017.1377132

PMID

29111903

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals have higher prevalence of lifetime suicide ideation and attempt than their heterosexual peers, but less is known about differences in suicide acceptability (i.e., believing suicide is a viable answer to a problem). The purpose of this study was to examine if LGB adults had greater suicide acceptability than heterosexual adults.

METHODS: Four items in the General Social Surveys from 2008-2014 assessed whether a nationally representative sample of US adult respondents (n = 5,037) thought it acceptable for individuals to kill themselves if one: goes bankrupt, dishonors their family, is tired of living, or has an incurable disease. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association of sexual orientation with suicide acceptability items after adjusting for confounding factors.

RESULTS: Compared with heterosexuals, lesbians/gays had higher odds of reporting suicide acceptability if one goes bankrupt (OR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.06, 3.46), dishonors family (OR = 1.83; 95% CI: 1.01, 3.28), or is tired of living (OR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.30, 3.90). Bisexual and heterosexual groups were largely similar across the 4 suicide acceptability items. No sexual orientation differences were observed for reporting acceptability of suicide in the instance of an incurable disease. Post hoc analyses revealed significant interactions between sex and sexual orientation, such that differences in suicide acceptability seemed to be driven by sexual minority women rather than by sexual minority men.

CONCLUSION: Suicide acceptability differs by sexual orientation, and community-level interventions around changing norms about suicide may be a prevention strategy for sexual minority individuals.

Language: en

Keywords

general social survey; sexual minority; sexual orientation; suicide acceptability