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February 14th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda TUESDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) — New research confirms the
trend of disturbing headlines that have appeared in media reports in the
past two years:
— For Many Gay Youth, Bullying Exacts a Deadly Toll
— Gay Buffalo Teen Commits Suicide on Eve of National Bullying
Summit
— Tennessee Teen Commits Suicide After Years Of Anti-Gay Bullying
— Indiana Teen Commits Suicide After Anti-Gay Bullying at School
As seemingly damning as the headlines may be, the results of the study
don’t prove that harassment directly causes young gay people to become
suicidal or hurt themselves. Still, the research is the first to show what
happens over time to teens who are bullied and victimized, said study
co-author Brian Mustanski, an associate professor at Northwestern
University’s Department of Medical Social Sciences.
It may seem obvious that bullying and a lack of support from loved ones
would make people more suicidal. But “sometimes the things that we think
are important still have to get confirmed with science,” Mustanski
said.
“It’s surprising how negative those effects are,” he added.
“Victimization turned out to be really important. It was far and away the
most important risk factor.”
Previous research has suggested that gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) children are more likely to be suicidal and hurt
themselves. A study released in the journal Developmental
Psychology last year found that these people who were bullied as
children were about 2.5 times more likely as others to be clinically
depressed as young adults.
In the new study, reported in the current issue of the American
Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers surveyed 246 LGBT youth
aged 16 to 20 and followed them over several years to see what happened to
them. Fifty-seven percent of the participants were black; about half were
female.
Being bullied (over the time period of the study) and a low level of
support from others boosted the risk that the teens would become suicidal.
Bullying also boosted the risk that they would try to harm themselves.
Over the 2.5-year study, slightly more than 15 percent of the people in
the survey reported trying to harm themselves.
On average, 8 percent of the participants reported hurting themselves
in the prior six months, Mustanski said. Seven percent of those who didn’t
report being victimized said they’d harmed themselves, compared to 11
percent of those who’d reported being victimized. Overall, a history of
being bullied more than doubled the odds for self-harm, the researchers
found.
However, those who had social support — “support from family and
peers, meaning that the young person would say they have someone to go to
when they have a tough time, someone is looking out for them” — were
less likely to be suicidal, Mustanski added.
N. Eugene Walls, an assistant professor of social work at the
University of Denver, said the study confirms other findings about the
effects of anti-gay bullying.
“As more and more research accumulates, those who wish to ignore
anti-gay bullying or dismiss it as normal adolescent behavior and teasing
are going to have an increasingly difficult argument to make that bullying
is not that serious,” he said.
What should parents do?
“Research indicates that they are unlikely to be able to change their
child’s sexual orientation. So even though it may be difficult, sexual
orientation is likely to be something about their child that will require
acceptance,” said Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, a professor of
psychology at the University of South Alabama.
Mustanski said young people themselves can find support through
gay-straight alliances on campuses, youth programs at local gay community
centers and online sites.
He recommended the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s list of
warning signs of suicide.
More information
Contact the The Trevor Project to reach a 24-hour, toll-free
confidential suicide hotline for gay teens and those who are questioning
their sexuality.
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