Monday, April 18, 2011

Moral Values Cause Teen Suicides: Study

The study released today by Mark Hatzenbuehler of Columbia University shows that high schools dominated by conservatives have higher rates of teen suicides; his solution is to approve of, and celebrate homosexual behavior.


For background, read Exposed: Obama's Gay Agenda for Schools

-- From "Conservatism Blamed for Gay Teen Suicides" by Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press 4/18/11

Suicide attempts by gay teens -- and even straight kids -- are more common in politically conservative areas where schools don't have programs supporting gay rights, a study involving nearly 32,000 high school students found.

Those factors raised the odds and were a substantial influence on suicide attempts even when known risk contributors like depression and being bullied were considered, said study author Mark Hatzenbuehler, a Columbia University psychologist and researcher.

His study found a higher rate of suicide attempts even among kids who weren't bullied or depressed when they lived in counties less supportive of gays and with relatively few Democrats. A high proportion of Democrats was a measure used as a proxy for a more liberal environment.

Hatzenbuehler said the results show that "environments that are good for gay youth are also healthy for heterosexual youth."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Social environment linked to gay teen suicide risk" By Genevra Pittman, Reuters Health 4/18/11

The findings, published online today in Pediatrics, showed that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) teens living in counties with a high proportion of gay and lesbian couples, and those who went to schools with gay-straight alliances and anti-discrimination policies, were less likely to attempt suicide than LGB teens living in less accepting environments.

He said that while previous studies have shown that LGB teens are more likely to attempt suicide, those studies haven't been able to determine why exactly that's the case.

Hatzenbuehler used data from 3 years of health surveys given to teens in Oregon.

About 1400 -- or between 4 and 5 percent -- of teens surveyed identified themselves as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "The bluer the Oregon county, the lower the gay-teen suicide rate" by Andrew Malcolm, Los Angeles Times 4/18/11

In a newly released study primarily focused on gay-teen suicide rates in Oregon, some interesting details were discovered. The numbers of suicide attempts by gay teens went down by 20% in counties whose schools had anti-bullying, anti-discrimination policies and/or a Gay-Straight Alliance. The suicide rate was also lower when the proportion of Democrats was higher in the county.

A community that was supportive of gay teens not only curbed suicide among gays, the study found, but also lowered the rate of suicide attempts by heterosexual students by 9%.

Researchers led by Mark Hatzenbuehler looked at five aspects of the social environment surrounding gay, lesbian and bisexual youth on a countywide level: the proportion of schools with anti-bullying policies specifically protecting these students; the proportion of schools with a Gay-Straight Alliance; the proportion of schools with anti-discrimination policies that included sexual orientation; the proportion of same-sex couples; and the proportion of Democrats in the county. Then they rated each of Oregon's 34 counties based on the results of those findings.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.