Bullying, and Suicide Attempt Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual NYC Public High School Students

Background and Purpose:

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual  (LGB)  youth are more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. They are also more likely to experience bullying by other students. In this study we hypothesized that bullying is one of the mechanisms that mediates the relationship between LGB youth and suicide attempt among a representative sample of New York City (NYC) public high school students.

Methods:

Data for this study were obtained from the 2013 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and is representative of NYC public high school students. We took into account the complex survey design in our analysis. We tested a mediation model using Mplus to test the significance of the indirect effect of LGB identification on suicide attempt via bullying.

Results:

LGB youth had a significantly higher rate of suicide attempt than their non-LGB counterparts:  27.0% vs. 7.3%. Moreover, LGB youth were significantly more likely to experience bullying than their non-LGB counterparts: 19.2% vs. 10.0%. After adjusting for covariates including depressed mood and substance use we found that bullying was a partial mediator of the association between LGB youth and suicide attempt.

Conclusions and Implications:

Suicide attempts are alarmingly high for LGB youth in NYC public high schools. Suicide prevention approaches for LGB students should include anti-bullying initiatives in school settings. Future research should test if approaches that foster affirming school climates for LGB youth may help to lower suicide attempts among this population.