UCLA study reveals suicide rates in California

Californians who identify as a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community were almost three times more likely than their peers to consider suicide, according to a health policy brief released by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research last month.

About 2.4 million adults in California have seriously contemplated suicide in their lifetime, according to the brief, which analyzed data from the California Health Interview Survey that began 2009. The survey is the nation’s largest state health survey, according to the organization’s website. Researchers surveyed about 500,000 Californians in the study which took two years to complete.

The study broke the population down into various categories, including race and sexual orientation, and illustrated that members of the LGBT community are at a higher risk for having suicidal thoughts.

6.5 percent of members of the LGBT community have seriously contemplated suicide, a percentage considerably higher than the 1.8 percent of all California adults, said David Grant, director of the California Health Interview Survey and one of the authors of the health policy brief.

Although the California Health Interview Survey, which was established in 2001, has been addressing various health since its inception, 2009 marked the first time the survey has included questions about suicide, he said.

“The survey is significant because there is not a lot of data on suicide that also considers people’s sexual orientation,” Grant said.

The survey also examined race. American Indians appeared to be a higher risk group with about 6.2 percent of the population experiencing suicidal thoughts.

The small sample size for the American Indian population makes their percentage possibly less accurate, Grant said. By contrast, the percentage for members of the LGBT community is statistically significant.

The survey also divided up different counties and regions in California in order to identify specific areas where suicide prevention efforts should be concentrated, Grant said. Although there are large communities of LGBT members in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, these areas do not have high rates of suicidal thoughts, he said. The risk is often higher in more rural areas because they are more isolated and may lack resources, he added.

College students who identify as a member of the LGBT community are a particularly high risk group because they are transitioning to live on their own, said Saeromi Kim, a counseling psychologist for UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services.

Suicidal thoughts are often higher among young adults, a trend consistent with national data, Grant said.

Members of the LGBT community who are 50 years or older have often already gone through the stress of coming out, but college students face additional pressure, Grant said.

The UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services Center also provides resources for all students. Because LGBT students may possess a higher risk for depression or anxiety, the center aims to provide increased access to support services, Kim said. As of last year, counselors offer about 14 hours a week for drop-in consultations at the LGBT center to make counseling more accessible for LGBT students, she said.

For students who have not already come out, it is often difficult to seek help or talk to people, Kim said.

Aces Lira, a second-year gender studies and Chicana/o studies student, works as a media intern for the LGBT center and said it is sometimes difficult for him to listen to stories about fellow students struggling to come out, but that LGBT organizations are crucial to providing support.

Lira said he was not surprised by the brief’s statistics. While it may be painful for some to see such high statistics, Lira said such numbers are important because they bring about change by initiating new programs.

 

Email Beck at mbeck@media.ucla.edu.