A research study published online today in the journal Pediatrics, reports that the social environment in which gay/lesbian/transgendered teens live in is significantly associated with suicide risk. Many news outlets have picked up on this research study and here is one link to a study by the AP on the Intellihealth website: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC267/24479/20780/1397730.html?d=dmtICNNews
Quoting the AP article: |The study relied on teens' self-reporting suicide attempts within |the previous year. Roughly 20 percent of gay, lesbian and bisexual |teens said they had made an attempt, versus 4 percent of straight kids. | |The study's social index rated counties on five measures: prevalence |of same-sex couples; registered Democratic voters; liberal views; |schools with gay-straight alliances; schools with policies against |bullying gay students; and schools with antidiscrimination policies |that included sexual orientation. The politics part is the following: |His study found a higher rate of suicide attempts even among kids |who weren't bullied or depressed when they lived in counties less |supportive of gays and with relatively few Democrats. A high |proportion of Democrats was a measure used as a proxy for a more |liberal environment. Pubmed doesn't have an entry yet for the article, so I am providing the abstract from Pediatrics below: -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] |Published online April 18, 2011 |PEDIATRICS (doi:10.1542/peds.2010-3020) This Article | |The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth | |Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, PhD |Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York | |Objective To determine whether the social environment surrounding lesbian, |gay, and bisexual youth may contribute to their higher rates of suicide attempts, |controlling for individual-level risk factors. | |Methods A total of 31 852 11th grade students (1413 [4.4%] lesbian, gay, |and bisexual individuals) in Oregon completed the Oregon Healthy Teens |survey in 2006–2008. We created a composite index of the social environment |in 34 counties, including (1) the proportion of same-sex couples, (2) the |proportion of registered Democrats, (3) the presence of gay-straight alliances |in schools, and (4) school policies (nondiscrimination and antibullying) that |specifically protected lesbian, gay, and bisexual students. | |Results Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were significantly more likely to |attempt suicide in the previous 12 months, compared with heterosexuals |(21.5% vs 4.2%). Among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, the risk of |attempting suicide was 20% greater in unsupportive environments compared |to supportive environments. A more supportive social environment was |significantly associated with fewer suicide attempts, controlling for sociodemographic |variables and multiple risk factors for suicide attempts, including depressive |symptoms, binge drinking, peer victimization, and physical abuse by an |adult (odds ratio: 0.97 [95% confidence interval: 0.96–0.99]). | |Conclusions This study documents an association between an objective |measure of the social environment and suicide attempts among lesbian, gay, |and bisexual youth. The social environment appears to confer risk for suicide |attempts over and above individual-level risk factors. These results have |important implications for the development of policies and interventions to |reduce sexual orientation–related disparities in suicide attempts. | |Key Words: suicide attempts • sexual orientation • disparities • social |determinants of health |Abbreviations: LGB = lesbian, gay, and bisexual • OHT = Oregon Healthy |Teens • OR = odds ratio • CI = confidence interval |Accepted Jan 20, 2011. P.S. When I cover APA style in methods, I use an abstract from a medical journal where the sections are explicitly labeled as in the above abstract. I point out that APA style doesn't do this explicitly but it is a good thing to keep this kind of outline for the abstract in your head when writing the abstract. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=10104 or send a blank email to leave-10104-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
