Does teen pride save lives?
Dan Allen
The suicide rate among American youths has been dropping over the last decade, and researchers say that could be because more young gays and lesbians feel accepted. A report released in June by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that suicides among people ares 10 to 19 dropped by more than 25% from 1992 to 2001.
“Things are a lot different now than they were in 1992,” said Charles Wibbelsman, MD, chief of San Francisco’s Kaiser Permanente Teen Clinic, who added that some studies have shown gay youths are three times more likely than their straight counterparts to attempt suicide. “There’s a lot more awareness and acceptance of gay and lesbian and bisexual lifestyles.”
But others stopped short of painting a rosy picture. “Unfortunately, the CDC study tells us nothing about the presence of LGBT people within the group they’re looking at,” said Eliza Byard, deputy executive director of the Gay, lesbian, and Straight Education Network.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Liberation Publications, Inc.
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