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A new study published in Educational Researcher suggests that the rise in suicidal thoughts and behaviors among high school girls in recent years might be connected to an increase in the number of girls identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ). While rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors remained steady within both heterosexual and LGBQ groups of girls, the overall rise in female suicidality appears linked to the increase in girls identifying as LGBQ, a group that historically faces greater social pressures and mental health challenges.
Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that a substantial number of teenage girls have seriously considered suicide, made suicide plans, or attempted suicide in recent years. This increase has prompted examination into potential contributing factors, and the researchers aimed to explore a connection between this trend and the simultaneous increase in the number of girls identifying as LGBQ.
Previous research has consistently shown that LGBQ youth experience higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared to their heterosexual peers. The new study sought to determine if the rise in overall suicidality among girls could be explained, at least in part, by a larger proportion of students now identifying as part of a more vulnerable population. Furthermore, the researchers wanted to compare these trends with those of male students, among whom changes in LGBQ identification have been less pronounced.
“Recent reports of rising suicidality among teenage girls caught our attention, but we noticed that discussions weren’t fully considering an important demographic shift occurring simultaneously – the significant increase in female students identifying as LGBQ. Given the well-documented higher rates of suicidality among LGBQ youth, we wanted to investigate whether these parallel trends might be connected,” explained study author Joseph Cimpian, a professor of economics and education policy at New York University.
To conduct their study, the researchers analyzed data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) collected in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. The YRBS is a survey of high school students in grades 9 through 12 across the United States that collects data on health risk behaviors. The sample included 22,562 female and 22,130 male students who responded to questions about their sexual identity and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The survey asked students to identify their sexual orientation (heterosexual or LGBQ) and whether they had experienced suicidal thoughts, made suicide plans, or attempted suicide in the past year.
The researchers used statistical methods to analyze the data and examine trends in LGBQ identification and suicidality among both female and male students. They used logistic regression to predict LGBQ identification by year. They also used logistic regression to examine suicidality outcomes by year and tested for interactions between sexual identity and year.
To see if the changes in LGBQ identification could statistically explain the rise in suicidality among girls, they adjusted the suicidality rates to account for the changes in LGBQ identification over time. They also used an algorithm to account for potentially mischievous responses from students who might have provided invalid data. Finally, they looked at trends separately for White students and students of color to see if there were different patterns across racial and ethnic groups.
The researchers found a substantial increase in the proportion of high school girls identifying as LGBQ between 2015 and 2021. In 2015, about 15% of female students identified as LGBQ, but by 2021, this number had risen to 34%. This represents a significant increase. In contrast, the percentage of male students identifying as LGBQ showed only a small increase, from 6% in 2015 to 9% in 2021.
The researchers also found that suicidal thoughts, suicide plans, and suicide attempts were significantly higher among female students in 2021 compared to previous years. However, when they analyzed the data separately for LGBQ and heterosexual females, they found that the rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors remained stable within each group. LGBQ females consistently reported higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared to heterosexual females, but there was no notable increase or decrease in these rates over time within the LGBQ group. This suggests that the increase in overall suicidality among females was primarily driven by the increasing number of girls identifying as LGBQ.
When the researchers adjusted the overall suicidality rates to account for changes in LGBQ identification, the significant differences in suicidality rates among females in 2021 compared to other years disappeared. In other words, once the researchers accounted for the fact that more girls identified as LGBQ in 2021, there were no longer significant differences in suicidality rates among females across the years. These patterns remained the same even after accounting for potentially mischievous and invalid responses.
“We were struck by how consistent the rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors are when looking just among heterosexual girls or just among LGBQ girls,” Cimpian told PsyPost. “That is, the much-reported trends of increasing suicidality among girls as a whole are not found when looking within just heterosexual or just LGBQ girls. ”
For males, the researchers found minimal changes in suicidality after adjusting for LGBQ identification. As expected, the small increase in male LGBQ identification did little to explain the trends in male suicidality. Both White and students of color showed similar trends, including rising LGBQ identification and the lack of significant suicidality differences after accounting for sexual identity.
“While overall female suicidality increased between 2015 and 2021, we found that rates remained stable within both LGBQ and heterosexual groups separately – suggesting that the overall increase stems from more students being part of a group (LGBQ) that has historically experienced higher suicide risk due to social and structural pressures,” Cimpian explained. “This finding indicates that addressing rising suicidality among teenage girls requires focusing on supporting LGBQ youth specifically, rather than assuming all girls are becoming more suicidal.”
But as with all research, there are some limitations to consider. The survey data only included binary sex categories (female and male) and did not measure gender identity. This means the researchers could not examine any patterns for transgender youth. Future research could continue to monitor trends in suicidality among LGBQ youth and examine the factors that contribute to their increased risk. The research team hopes to gain a better understanding of the ways in which school policies and the broader social climate contribute to the mental health outcomes of students with diverse sexual identities.
“We plan to examine how school policies and resources affect outcomes for LGBQ students, particularly as many states consider legislation affecting LGBTQ+ youth in schools,” Cimpian said. “We’re also interested in understanding how intersecting identities and school climate factors influence student wellbeing and mental health outcomes.”
The study, “An Overlooked Explanation for Increasing Suicidality: LGBQ Stressors Felt by More Students,” was authored by Joseph R. Cimpian and Mollie T. McQuillan.
