Post by sherlew99 on Jun 21, 2013 7:45:20 GMT -6
"We have identified 100 ways parents and caregivers can respond and show how that affects their risk for suicide or substance abuse or HIV, self-esteem and sense of the future," said Caitlin Ryan, director of the Project, which has been studying LGBT youth and their families for 12 years.
"What we found across religious groups in conflict with homosexuality is many parents feel like they have to choose between their child and their faith," she said. "We've seen a lot of LGBT kids out of their homes and on the streets. Research shows high levels of negative reactions to homosexuality and risk for suicidal behavior and a sense of hopelessness. Jordan's greatest fear is that he felt he would be thrown out."
Ryan said that LGBT-specific suicide rates are difficult to find but could be as high as 4 percent and perhaps even higher among Mormons. A 2008 study in the journal Pediatrics suggests that acceptance, and even neutrality, about a child's sexual orientation rather than rejection, can reduce those rates.
"What we found across religious groups in conflict with homosexuality is many parents feel like they have to choose between their child and their faith," she said. "We've seen a lot of LGBT kids out of their homes and on the streets. Research shows high levels of negative reactions to homosexuality and risk for suicidal behavior and a sense of hopelessness. Jordan's greatest fear is that he felt he would be thrown out."
Ryan said that LGBT-specific suicide rates are difficult to find but could be as high as 4 percent and perhaps even higher among Mormons. A 2008 study in the journal Pediatrics suggests that acceptance, and even neutrality, about a child's sexual orientation rather than rejection, can reduce those rates.
Wow, thank goodness for the Family Acceptance Project.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
