LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) young people appear to be less resilient than their older LGBT counterparts, according to a new study at the University of Missouri School of Medicine that explored the role resilience plays in lowering stress and depression among people in the LGBT community.
“Identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender often is associated with an unfriendly and hostile environment,” said Jane A. McElroy, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and lead author of the study. “Resilience is the ability to protect oneself against those stressors and rebound from adversity.”
Typically, LGBT individuals experience much higher levels of stress and depression than the general public. Prior research has shown that LGBT youths are four times more likely to commit suicide compared to their straight peers. In fact, each episode of LGBT victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse, increases the chances of self-harming behavior by 2.5 times on average, according to IMPACT, an LGBT health and development program.
[For more of this story, written by Traci Pedersen, go to http://psychcentral.com/news/2...esilience/94500.html]
Comments (0)