Suicide risk for gay and bisexual men lower in these countries

By Georgia Lambert via SWNS

Gay and bisexual men who come from supportive countries are at a lower risk of suicide and depression, according to new research.

Gay and bisexual men and those who identify as men, who move from a country with high stigma towards the LGBTQ+ community to one more accepting of LGBTQ+ rights, experience a significantly lower risk of suicide and depression, according to the American Psychological Association.

The study, which analyzed data from 48 countries, has supported previous research which showed that a country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, policies, and social attitudes create unavoidable systemic stigma, which is likely to impact the mental health of the community and more specifically, gay and bisexual men.

Researchers from the Association used a new approach to test the mental health consequences of this structural stigma, by examining data from gay and bisexual men, who moved between countries with varying levels of acceptance.

Dr. John Pachankis, an associate professor of public health and director of the LGBTQ Mental Health Initiative at the Yale School of Public Health, was the lead author of the study.

He said: “Our study found that gay and bisexual men had a lower risk of depression and suicidality when they moved from higher-stigma countries to lower-stigma countries, especially when they had lived in the new country for five years or longer.”

Dr. Pachankis and his team used data from a 2017 - 18 online survey of more than 123,000 participants living in European and Asian countries.

Most of the participants were gay or bisexual men, while approximately six percent were men who had sex with other men who identified as heterosexual or another sexual orientation.

The survey asked questions designed to assess the individual’s mental health as well as other factors like the extent to which they felt compelled to conceal their sexual orientation, if they had internalized negative attitudes against homosexuality, and how socially isolated they felt.

The researchers then analyzed the data from participants who moved between countries with differing levels of structural stigma, as measured by an indicator compiled from 15 laws and policies covering LGBTQ+ rights as well as social attitudes.

More than 11,000 participants who had moved from high to low stigma holding countries were included in the analysis.

According to Dr. Pachankis, the results of the study bring to light reasons why exposure to high structural stigma might affect the mental health of gay and bisexual men.

Dr. Pachankis explained: “The study shows that structural stigma shaped gay and bisexual men’s daily lives and mental health by increasing their risks for social isolation, concealment of their identity, and internalized homonegativity.”

Although the study failed to examine the effects of specific laws and policies, one of the most common forms of systemic stigma in the less tolerant countries was the lack of legal recognition of relationships and same-sex marriages.

Men who had moved from higher to lower stigma countries were more likely to make the decision to move in order to live openly as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and to seek asylum, than men who moved from lower to higher stigmatized countries.

For a smaller group of gay and bisexual men who had moved from lower to higher stigma countries, researchers felt there wasn’t an increased risk for suicidality and depression.

They explained that growing up in a country that is supportive of equal rights will benefit your mental health.

Although the study didn’t include participants living in the United States, previous research has found significantly poorer mental health among LGBTQ+ people who live in states where hate crime and employment non-discrimination laws back protections based on sexual orientation.

In light of the study’s findings, Dr. Pachankis explained how important it is that mental health professionals who work in environments where high stigma is rife, consider addressing the internalized homonegativity and social isolation of LGBTQ+ people.

The findings were published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.