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Parents' intolerance of their gay and lesbian teens increases the chance that they will suffer health problems in young adulthood, including increased risk of suicide, depression, drug abuse and unsafe sex, new research shows.

Those whose parents reacted negatively to their sexual orientation were more than eight times more likely to have attempted suicide than those whose families accepted them, according to a study in the January issue of Pediatrics. They were also nearly six times as likely to report depression, three times as likely to use drugs and three times as likely to have unprotected sex.

The findings are based on surveys of 224 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adults in California who ranged in age from 21 to 25. Gay Latinos were most likely to experience a poor reception from their parents, and had the highest rates of risk factors for HIV and mental health problems, according to the research.

The reason for the link isn’t entirely clear, but how a parent treats a gay teen may affect how likely the child is to engage in risky behaviors, write the authors, from San Francisco State University and the University of Utah. Rejected gay teens are also disproportionately represented among the homeless, in foster care and in juvenile detention, they note.

Previous research has shown that HIV is on the rise among young gay men, who may be inclined to engage in unprotected sex. Other studies have demonstrated health disparities between gay and straight teens, including elevated risks of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy and mental health problems, including suicide. But this study specifically looked at the health differences among gay youth, based on their perception of how their parents treated them.

The finding comes on the heels of passage of Proposition 8 in California, which defines marriage in that state as being between a man and a woman. (The California Supreme Court has said it will consider lawsuits calling for the measure to be rejected.)

Controversy also is swirling around President-elect Barack Obama's choice of the Rev. Rick Warren, who supported Prop 8 and has made disparaging remarks about gays, to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.

Image of Gay Pride Flag by marcus_jb1973 via Flickr

10 Comments

1. 1. natalie_h 08:18 PM 12/29/08

   for anyone who is GBLT and coming out to their family and friends this is fairly obvious. If people accept you and support you, you are going to feel happy being who you are, even if it don't fit into our society's norms. Otherwise... :-(

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2. 2. bkurilko 08:19 PM 12/29/08

   Wait wait wait, elevated risk of teen pregnancy? Someone's going to have to explain that one to me.

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3. 3. soph_p in reply to bkurilko 10:48 AM 12/30/08

   bkurilko,
   
   first of all, while the opening paragraph simply stated "gay and lesbian" it later notes that the study was conducted on lesbian, gay, _bisexual_, and transgender youth. but i think more importantly, a direct effect of homophobia is that queer youth can find themselves under more pressure to have heterosexual sex in order to "make themselves straight." and with family rejection comes homelessness, with that comes higher risk of survival sex work, sexual assault, drug abuse, etc.

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4. 4. OrlandoGayPages 11:34 AM 12/30/08

   If parents would educate themselves and try to understand their child this would help other teens to be honest with their parents. No one wants to disappoint their parents. Parents should be accepting and love their child no matter what their sexual orientation is.

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5. 5. miss_c in reply to hab 12:55 AM 12/31/08

   Hab- there is nothing scientific about the man created notion of 'sin', other than in psychology.

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6. 6. danalarocca 02:15 PM 1/5/09

   First I must say that I concur with the general findings both based on my own study and on my own personal experience. Hey, rejection hurts!
   
   That said, the article states that the study was based on the subjects "perception" of how their parents treated them. Hey fellow scientific Americans, let's ask one serious question: Were these 224 subjects psychologically screened for delusional content in their cognitive processes?
   
   If not we must throw both the baby and the bathwater out since the conclusions are drawn based on their perceptions. In another article I read that some of the subjects were chosen from bars and nightclubs. I have nothing against Ethanol and the people that love her. But I wonder if it was public funds or the money from private foundations was used for social workers to lurk around these establishments, um, recruiting.
   
   Where do you sign up for that job?
   
   
   
   

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7. 7. bamanddre3000 04:58 PM 2/9/09

   i think that gays and lesbians should have the same rights as the next "staight as a ruler" tom and not be judged by society

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8. 8. 4ng3l0fd4rkn3ss 11:02 PM 5/19/09

   i find it silly how gays and lezbians are rejected by their parents and by others. gays are great to hang out with and become friends with. yes alot of gays can be backstabbers (more like a plastic lolz) but not all are like that. i must admit they look very kool at their webbing (heh). ppl whu reject them are stupid and needa getta grip. no im not trying be be a know it all but gays are kool and great friends, if u find the right gays, some lezbians can be scary but normally end up ok (except wen they stare at ur ass in band practice) gay guys have got to be the best male friend to have (if there not backstabbers) becoz if u needa guy to talk to u might be affraid that straight guys are gonna hit on u but a gay wont even bother bcoz he likes penis. thank u for reading this is u bothered, lolz bye bye xx

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9. 9. sdls1971 in reply to miss_c 10:52 AM 6/1/09

   So, anything goes, right?

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