September 29, 2021

LGBTQ YOUTH FAR MORE LIKELY TO BE SUICIDAL; EARLY OUTREACH NEEDED – FIND OUT HOW OHIO AAP CAN HELP!

A new study, “Sexual Minority Status and Age of Onset of Adolescent Suicide Ideation and Behavior,” in the October 2021 Pediatrics found LGBQ youth—those who were identified in the research as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning—were far more likely than heterosexual peers to consider suicide at an earlier age. Researchers studied 1,771 young people who participated in the NEXT Generation Health Study, which started with 10th graders in 2009 and followed them through 2016 and found that sexual minority youth were more likely than their heterosexual peers to have ever seriously thought about suicide. In addition, sexual minority youth were more likely to make suicidal plans and their suicidal thought progressed more quickly into suicide plans than heterosexual youth. To read the full article click here.

 As the above study indicates, suicide rates were already on the rise, but the COVID pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. The past year and a half have brought uncertainty, loss of peer interactions and social isolation, creating increased mental health issues & suicide risks in teens and children – especially in vulnerable populations.

We know you have been swimming upstream with the pandemic along with child and adolescent mental health for the past 18 months. As a pediatrician, parent, friend —we all play a critical role in helping each other, particularly when we are in crisis. This year’s Ohio AAP Annual Meeting Keynote, Stories from a Year Lost: School-Age Children in Crisis and How Ohio AAP Can Help  will support the Store It Safe (SIS) Teen Suicide Prevention Program and new initiatives to promote mental resilience. Ohio AAP has assembled a multi-disciplinary panel of medical and lived experience experts, including teens, to discuss how we can get our children back to a healthier mental state after the pandemic. Attendees will leave with proven, quick and easy tools and techniques to use with children and adolescents in mental health crisis.

Register to attend by visiting: http://oldsite.ohioaap.org/sis21

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  • Join the Ohio AAP’s Annual Meeting keynote session, Stories from a Year Lost: Teens in Crisis. Learn how we can get our children back to a healthier mental state & receive FREE resources & techniques to help with teens in a mental health crisis! Register today at http://oldsite.ohioaap.org/sis21

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