Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objectives We examined how race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation shape adolescents' likelihood of being bullied and vulnerability to suicide ideation.
Methods We analyzed pooled data from the 2009 and 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (n = 75 344) to assess race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation variation in being bullied and suicide ideation.
Results White and Hispanic gay and bisexual males, White lesbian and bisexual females, and Hispanic bisexual females were more likely to be bullied than were White heterosexual adolescents. Black lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths' vulnerability to being bullied was not significantly different from that of White heterosexual youths. Black and Hispanic heterosexual youths were less likely to be bullied than were White heterosexual youths. Despite differences in the likelihood of being bullied, sexual minority youths were more likely to report suicide ideation, regardless of their race/ethnicity, their gender, or whether they have been bullied.
Conclusions Future research should examine how adolescents' intersecting identities shape their experience of victimization and suicidality. School personnel should develop antibullying and antihomophobia policies in response to the disproportionate risk of being bullied and reporting suicidality among sexual minority youths.
Introduction
Recently, stories linking suicide to bullying, particularly among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths, also known as sexual minorities, have been prominent in the media. In response to these tragic losses, media campaigns such as the It Gets Better Project have emerged to promote the message that suicide is not the answer. The focus of suicide prevention programs on LGB youths is warranted because research suggests that these youths are at higher risk for suicide and suicidal behaviors than are their heterosexual peers. Regardless of whether youths self-identify as LGB or report same-sex attraction or sexual contact, LGB youths have higher odds of reporting suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts. The strain of coping with the stigma of being a sexual minority in a society in which heterosexuality is normative is often referenced for explaining why LGB youths are at higher risk for suicide. In fact, studies show that when youths attend schools with cultures that are more likely to stigmatize LGB youths, their mental health outcomes are even worse.
The strain LGB youths may experience is apparent when one examines the percentage of LGB youths who experience harassment and bullying. Of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) 6th- to 12th-grade students from the 2011 National School Climate Survey of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 55% reported some form of electronic harassment. Additionally, estimates indicate that between 80% and 91% of LGBT students reported being the victim of name calling and verbal harassment in the school setting, and at least 40% have been physically harassed. Because adolescence is characterized by a heightened sensitivity to peers, this harassment can be devastating. Interestingly, whether the harassment is online or in person does not change the negative effects victimization can have on adolescents' mental health and well-being. Youths who are bullied or harassed are more likely to report delinquent behaviors, depression, low self-esteem, poor school performance, and higher levels of alcohol and drug use. Finally, most germane to this study, youths who reported being victimized or bullied had higher odds of attempting suicide and planning to complete suicide.
Despite the prevalence of bullying among LGBT youths, there may be important race/ethnicity and gender variations to consider. Previous research suggests that males are more likely than females to report being bullied and that White adolescents are more likely than Black adolescents to report being bullied—however, admittedly, these findings are far from conclusive because other research has found no evidence of racial differences in bullying. The evidence is sparser, but growing, when considering the intersections of gender, race/ethnicity, and sexuality and victimization. For instance, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network 2011 National School Climate Survey found that Black LGBT students were less likely to feel unsafe at school or report physical or verbal harassment because of their sexuality than their White, Hispanic, or multiracial LGBT peers. Kosciw et al. also found that Black LGBT students were less likely to experience victimization related to sexual orientation compared with White LGBT youths. However, note that a substantial proportion of Black LGBT youths did report these experiences (e.g., 54% of Black LGBT youths felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation). Hispanic LGBT youths appear to experience harassment on par with their White peers: 62% of Hispanic LGBT youths felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation compared with 65% of White LGBT youths. Finally, a recent study by Russell et al. found some race/ethnicity and gender differences in victimization in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data. For example, White and Hispanic sexual minorities skipped school because they felt unsafe more often than their heterosexual peers. Interestingly, being a sexual minority did not significantly change the degree of victimization that Black or Asian American youths reported. In terms of gender differences, Russell et al. found that bisexual boys reported more experiences of victimization than did other groups of sexual minority and majority youths.
In addition to race and gender differences in the prevalence of harassment, victimization, and bullying, important race and gender differences were found in the prevalence of suicidal behaviors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recent report found that female adolescents report suicide ideation, plans, and attempts more frequently than male adolesacents do. The prevalence of seriously considering suicide is higher among White, Black, and Hispanic female adolescents than among White, Black, and Hispanic male adolescents. Female adolescents also have a higher prevalence of suicide attempts than male adolescents do, with Hispanic females having the highest prevalence (17.6%) followed by Black females (13.9%) and White females (13.7%). Despite the higher prevalence of suicide attempts among females across racial/ethnic categories, researchers have found that the rate of suicide attempts among Black males has increased significantly in recent decades. These gender and race disparities in suicidality suggest that comparing the experiences of LGB youths with those of heterosexual youths, while considering race and gender differences, is needed to assess the magnitude of the problem.
With this study, we add to the growing literature on bullying and suicide among sexual minorities by examining gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual minority status differences in (1) the victims of bullying, (2) those who report suicide ideation, and (3) the association between being bullied and suicide ideation. To do this, we use pooled data from the 2009 and 2011 regional YRBS from 19 US states and cities. As recent public health researchers have noted, programs to address public health issues, such as adolescent suicide, will be effective only if we understand how various aspects of adolescent identity, such as race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, intersect to condition the development of health and risk behaviors.