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In their article citing a Massachusetts Department of Public Health survey on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health, the Boston Herald reported that:
[The study] found that about 31 percent of transgender respondents said they have considered attempting suicide in the past year, compared to just 2 percent for heterosexual residents, 4 percent for gay and lesbian residents and 7 percent for bisexual residents.
Thirty-one percent. In the past twelve months…
That statistic is sobering, especially compared to the statistics for LGB and heterosexual people. From the report paragraph (that has slightly more detail accompanying in the table with the cited statistic than the Herald article):
Respondents were asked if during the past 12 months they had seriously considered attempting suicide. Among heterosexuals, 2.3% reported having considered suicide and among gay men and lesbians,4.4% reported suicide ideation. Transgender persons (30.8%) and bisexuals (7.4%) reported higher rates of suicide ideation.
Again, that number is sobering.
The other statistic cited by the Boston Herald regarding transgender people:
Nearly 35 percent of transgender residents also say they’ve been threatened with physical violence during their lifetime by a partner, compared to 14 percent for non-transgender residents.
The statistics for that paragraph are found in Table 12 of the report.
3 Comments
The number doesn’t surprise me at all.In my life, I’ve had several times when the gun had to wrestled out of my hands. The pressure to live in a gender role that feels so wrong and the shame for being “weak” and eventually giving in to these urges can be extremely hard. You do what ever you can to hide that secret. I can only speak for myself, but I was a parody of what I thought a man should be. I grew a beard (my mask) and I’d get into fights in bars to prove I was manly, and to be punished for that woman that was hiding inside of me. It took years of therapy to discard this disquise and accept I was really someone else. There was always the pressure of being two genders-my birth gender and the act to show the world I was a man, and the one inside of me who would not be denied. That’s all behind me now and all the internal discourse is gone. If the world doesn’t approve of who I am, it’s their problem now, not mine.
Suicide, DepressionEven though I am not transgender, I have dealt with those crippling feelings that lead to suicide attempts. It saddens and angers me to hear that people are still being driven to suicide merely for being who they are. A harmless individual just trying to be happy in life but because that makes some others uncomfortable… I just want to hold all those hurting souls in my arms and tell them it’s alright and frak anyone who disagrees.
31% vs. 47%Several studies have shown that over 90% of people who commit suicide suffer from a psychiatric disorder — at the top of the list is depression and anxiety.
Among 181 transgender participants in a University of Minnesota study, 52% reported to be suffering from depression and 47% had considered suicide in the last three years. (Bockting, Huang, Robinson, and Rossier, 2005)
Being transgender doesn’t result directly in depression and anxiety. Isolation, loneliness, unemployment, financial problems, social stigma and many other related issues are the causes.
So, these statistics surprise me because they are actually much lower than I had previously read.
The study you site includes only 52 transgender individuals. The Minnisota study had 181.
The Minnesota study also asked for suicidal thoughts over a three year period — not just one year. Since being transgender is something that imnpacts a person over many years, I think the three year span is more appropriate. I’d like to see surveys ask for suicidal thoughts over a lifetime:
- Before transistion
- During transition
- After transisiton
This would be more meaningful.
Certainly, all information is valuable. But, more studies like this are needed.