NYC Gazette

Amid growing concerns over suicidal behavior among teenage girls, a recent study has identified a link between this trend and the increasing number of female students identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ). The research suggests that the rise in suicidality is not uniform across all female students but is more pronounced among those who identify as LGBQ.

Joseph Cimpian, lead author and professor at NYU Steinhardt and NYU Wagner, explains: “This finding suggests that the overall increase in female suicidality is not due to all female students becoming more suicidal, but rather to a larger proportion of students being part of a group that has historically experienced higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors due to social and structural pressures.”

The study utilized data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey spanning 2015 to 2021. It analyzed trends among more than 44,000 students to understand changes in LGBQ identification and suicidality. The results showed that the percentage of high school females identifying as LGBQ rose from 15% in 2015 to 34% in 2021. During this period, suicidal ideation among all female students increased from 23% to 29%, while suicide planning rose from 19% to 23%. Suicide attempts also climbed from 10% to 13%.

Published in Educational Researcher, the findings indicate that LGBQ females reported significantly higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared to their heterosexual peers. In particular, about 48% of LGBQ females considered suicide in contrast with roughly 20% of heterosexual females.

Conversely, teenage boys exhibited different patterns. The proportion identifying as LGBQ increased modestly from 6% in 2015 to 9% in 2021 with smaller shifts observed in suicide-related outcomes.

These trends were consistent across both White and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) student groups.

“These findings highlight the critical need to address the structural and social pressures that LGBQ youth face, including in our schools,” Cimpian emphasizes. He advocates for educational supports tailored for LGBQ females across racial and ethnic groups instead of reducing resources for these youths as proposed by some state bills.

The research was coauthored by Mollie McQuillan from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.