Mental Health Disparities: LGBTQ

1 Mental Health Disparities: LGBTQ . LGBTQ Population Sexual Identity - Approximately 9 million US adults ( ) identify themselves as lesbian or gay ( ), Population estimates of lesbian, gay, bisexual, bisexual ( ), or transgender ( ). transgender, and queer/questioning ( LGBTQ ). people vary widely, in part because of differences Sexual Behavior Approximately 19 million in how this data is collected. Surveys may ask Americans ( ) report engaging in same-sex about different elements of sexuality ( , sexual sexual behavior. attraction, sexual behavior, self-identification, or Sexual Attraction - Nearly million Americans some combination). Often, these domains are not (11%) acknowledge at least some same-sex sexual perfectly correlated ( , a heterosexual-identified ,2.)

2 Man who has sex with both men and women, but who is primarily attracted to women). Measuring Transgender is a term that refers to people whose only one or two domains can yield different gender identity (or gender expression) differs Percentage of LGBT Population by State population estimates. in some way from the sex they were assigned at Percentage of LGBTQ Population by State NH MA RI CT NJ DE MD DC 10%. HI AK Source: Gates & Newport, 2013. 2017 | 1. LGBT Individuals and Mental Health LGBTQ Individuals and Mental Health 12. 10. Number Days 8. Depressed 6 Number Days Anxious 4. 2. LGBT Individuals and Overall Health Heterosexual Gay or Bisexual Transgender Source: Mass. Dept. of Public Health , 2009. Lesbian Percentage Reporting birth.

3 TransgenderSource: Mass. individuals of Public Health , 2009. identify in myriad Sexual HealthAs Excellent drinking in the past month than heterosexual Orientation or Very Good ways. Some people identify as another gender ( , women ( vs. ). Gay/bisexual men were man or woman), while others adopt a non-binary less 83%. likely than heterosexual Heterosexual men ( vs ) to identity ( , genderqueer) or no gender at all engage in heavy drinking in the past Gay or Lesbian 78%. queer/questioning. Some transgender people seek Transgender individuals who identify as african medical or surgical treatments to help with gender Bisexual 74%. american / black , Hispanic/Latino, american transition while others do not. One recent study estimated that there are nearly 1 million transgender Indian/Alaska 67%.

4 TransgenderNative, or Multiracial/Mixed Race are at increased risk of suicide attempts than white people in the transgender Source: Mass. of Public Health 82009. Population estimates of LGBTQ people also appear LGBTQ individuals have higher rates of Mental to vary geographically, ranging from an average of Health service use than their heterosexual 2% in South Dakota to in Hawaii and in the District of LGBT Individuals and Suicide Mental Health Status and Disparities LGBTQ individuals are more than twice as likely Sexual Considered as heterosexual men and women to have a Mental Orientation Attempting Suicide Health disorder in their Heterosexual LGBTQ individuals are times more likely to experience depression, anxiety.

5 And substance Gay or Lesbian misuse compared with heterosexual Bisexual Women who identify as lesbian/bisexual are more Transgender than twice as likely to engage in heavy (alcohol). Source: Mass. Dept. of Public Health , 2009. Source: Mass. Dept. of Public Health 2009. 2017 | 2. The rate of suicide attempts is four times greater Being LGBTQ Is Not a Mental Disorder for lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and two All major professional Mental Health organizations times greater for questioning youth than that of have affirmed that homosexuality is NOT a Mental heterosexual youth. 10. disorder. Being transgender or gender variant LGBTQ older adults face a number of unique is NOT a Mental illness and does not imply any challenges, including the combination of anti- impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or LGBTQ stigma and ageism.

6 Approximately 31% of general social or vocational LGBTQ older adults report depressive symptoms; 39%. To learn about best practices for treating diverse report serious thoughts of taking their own lives. 11. populations and to get answers to your questions by leading psychiatrists, please visit APA's Stigma & Discrimination Cultural Competency webpage at https://www. Health disparities among LGBTQ people are linked to stigma and discrimination. For example: 6. Many LGBTQ people have reported experiencing stigma and discrimination when accessing Health Resources services, leading some individuals to delay AMA LGBT Advisory Committee pub/about-ama/our-people/member-groups-s ections/glbt- necessary Health care or forego it altogether.

7 12. american Psychiatric Association Toolkit for Working with LGBTQ individuals may have less social support Transgender and Gender-Variant Individuals than heterosexual individuals, particularly if american Psychiatric Association Resource Document on they live in a region without a large LGBTQ Working with Transgender Individuals american Psychological Association, population or if they have experienced rejection Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists (AGLP) by their family of origin. Bisexual people may feel Center for Excellence in Transgender Health http://transhealth. particularly isolated, experiencing stigma both in Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, society at-large and within the LGBTQ community.

8 13. Gay & Lesbian Medical Association Human Rights Campaign, Transgender individuals have higher rates Institute of Medicine Report - The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, of poverty and unemployment than non- and Transgender People transgender This is exacerbated by LGBT Suicide Prevention, National Center for Transgender Equality, a lack of federal employment non-discrimination National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, protections for LGBTQ individuals. Parent, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays The National LGBT Health Education Center www. LGBTQ individuals are more likely to be victims of World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). violence compared with their heterosexual peers. The risk of experiencing violence is even higher for undocumented and racial/ethnic minority 2017 | 3.

9 Footnotes Gates G. How Many People are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender? (The Williams Institute). 2011. 1. research/census-lgbt-demographics-studie s/how-many-people-are-lesbian-gay-bisexu al-and-transgender/. 2 . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexual Orientation Information Statistics. 2015. Available at 3 . Meerwijk E, et al. Transgender population size in the United States: a meta-regression of population-based probability samples. Am J Pub Health . 2017. 107(2):e1-e8. 4 . Gates G.). "Vermont Leads States in LGBT Identification". State of the States. Gallup Politics. February 15, 2017. poll/203513 5 . Semlyen J, et al. Sexual Orientation and Symptoms Of Common Mental Disorder or Low Wellbeing: Combined Meta-Analysis Of 12 UK.

10 Population Health Surveys. BMC Psychiatry. 2016. 24;16:67. 6 . Kates, J, et al. Health and Access To Care And Coverage For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Individuals in the Retrieved. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2016. challenges/. 7. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services. "Sexual Orientation and Estimates of Adult Substance Use and Mental Health : Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health ." 2016. NSDUH Data Review. SexualOrientation-2015/NSDUH-SexualOrien tation-2015 8. Hass A, et al."Suicide Attempts among Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Adults." The Williams Institute Report. 2014. https://. 9. Platt L. Patterns of Mental Health Care Utilization Among Sexual Orientation Minority Groups.