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A Compensatory Model of Risk and Resilience Applied to Adolescent Sexual Orientation Disparities in Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Suicide Attempts.

TitleA Compensatory Model of Risk and Resilience Applied to Adolescent Sexual Orientation Disparities in Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Suicide Attempts.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsReisner, Sari L., Katie Biello, Nicholas S. Perry, Kristi E. Gamarel, and Matthew J. Mimiaga
JournalThe American journal of orthopsychiatry
Date Published2014 Aug 4
ISSN1939-0025
AbstractThis study investigated and applied a compensatory model of risk and resilience to differences in past-year nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts by sexual orientation using representative data from the 2007 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 3,131). Self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) adolescents comprised 7% of the sample, but accounted for 67% of NSSI and 80% of suicide attempts. Compared with heterosexuals, LGBQ adolescents had an increased odds of NSSI (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) = 2.76; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [2.00, 3.81] and suicide attempts (aOR = 2.73; 95% CI [1.47, 5.08]. NSSI was highly associated with suicidality (aOR = 10.87; 95% CI [6.17, 19.18]. Family support was independently associated with a decreased odds of both NSSI (aOR = 0.56; 95% CI [0.35, 0.89] and suicidality (aOR = 0.48; 95% CI [0.29, 0.79] supporting a compensatory model of resilience. Screening and preventive interventions for LGBQ adolescents are warranted, including at the family level. Sexual orientation should be included as a standard demographic to monitor health disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
Alternate JournalAm J Orthopsychiatry

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