SUICIDE AMONG LESBIAN YOUTHS.   Term Paper ID:22291 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Causes & preventive measures for foster care situations. Incidence, stress, depression, role of social workers.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Causes & preventive measures for foster care situations. Incidence, stress, depression, role of social workers. Paper Introduction: SUICIDE PREVENTION FOR LESBIANS IN FOSTER CARE Introduction The purpose of this paper is to examine the current literature on suicide prevention efforts designed for lesbian youth in foster care situations. The report provides context by examining the literature on the general problems faced by lesbian youth and the contribution of these problems to the development of suicidal feelings in general and to suicidal feelings in the foster care situation in particular. The report ends with a discussion of steps that can be taken to remediate the pressures leading to suicidal behavior for lesbian youth in foster care. Suicide Among Lesbian Youths Prevalence Rates and Causative Factors Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. All of the young people in the study were given theAdolescent Health Questionnaire, which assessed family issues, socialenvironment, and self-perceptions. (1993). In their study of suicide among young people in foster care ingeneral, Charles and Matheson (1991) recommended that efforts be taken tomake foster parents more aware of the warning signs of suicide as theyrelate to social, biological, intellectual, and affective functioning, andin terms of young people's behavioral response to ongoing or situationalcrises. Findings of the study indicated that a significant portion of theadolescents reported mild depression. Social Work, 39(5), 5 4-513.Ricketts, W. It is further shown that theUnited States Constitution offers little protection to the homosexualprospective parent. Bradford, Ryan and Rothblum (1994) presentdemographic, lifestyle, and mental health information about 1,925 lesbiansdrawn from all 5 states who participated as respondents in the Nationallesbian Health Care Survey (1984-1985), which has been the mostcomprehensive study on American lesbians to date. These youths, with their higher-functioning support systems andbetter coping skills were able to use those systems instead of consideringsuicide. Verbal and physical abuse as stressors in the lives of lesbian, gay male, and bisexual youths: Associations with school problems, running away, substance abuse, prostitution, and suicide. (1994). The goal of the support group is to improve self-esteem and provideaffirmation for students suffering the effects of stigmatization anddiscrimination based on sexual orientation. In other words, by the time most children, gay/lesbian orheterosexual, enter foster care, they are already at a high risk ofsuicide. The report provides contextby examining the literature on the general problems faced by lesbian youthand the contribution of these problems to the development of suicidalfeelings in general and to suicidal feelings in the foster care situationin particular. & Hershberger, S.L. (1987). Effects of a multi-factoreducation program on the attitude of child and youth worker students towardgays and lesbians. Further, the program seemed to help those to whomthese teens would turn (e.g. Lesbian, gay, and bisexualyouth in community settings: Personal challenges and mental healthproblems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 21(4), 421-448.Hammelman, T.L. ----------------------- 6 Gay and No Place to Go: Assessing the Needs of Gay and lesbian Adolescents in Out-of-Home Care Settings. Child Welfare, 71(6), 547-556.McKinney, L. & Groze, V.K. (1992). (1986-1987). Contributing factors to lesbian and gay youth suicide were discussedby Hammelman (1993) who examined 48 gay and lesbian youths' (aged 15-32years) tendencies for suicide and the extent to which these tendencies areinfluenced by sexual orientation, violence, age, substance abuse, physicalor emotional abuse, family rejection, or gender. (1994). The Beck Depression Inventory and the Beck Hopelessness Scale wereused as the measures of depression and suicidality, respectively. (1994). One of these was a study conducted by Mallon(1992) who reported that out-of-home placements (whether foster care orresidential settings) of gay and lesbian adolescents--regardless of whetherthese young people were already self-declared or in the throes of sexualidentity struggles--were often negative experiences because their feelingsof differences were frequently aggravated by the attitudes of those aroundthem, including other children and some staff members. Special Section: Mental health of lesbians and gay men. ReferencesBradford, J., Ryan, C. This response to gay male,lesbian, and bisexual adolescents by significant others in theirenvironment is often associated with several problematic outcomes,including school-related problems, running away from home, conflict withthe law, substance abuse, prostitution, and suicide. Special Section: Mental health of lesbians and gay men. Dissertation Abstracts International, 48( 6-B), p. Marriage and Family Review, 14(3-4), 83-118.Savin-Williams, R.C. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 261-269.Uhl, B.A. Uhl (1986-1987) surveyed policy concerning the foster parenting ofgay/lesbian youths by gay/lesbian couples in over forty-seven states.According to Uhl, the results of the survey indicated that the majority hadno formal policy regarding these issues. Child and Youth Care Forum, 23(2), 119-133.D'Augelli, A.R. Thiscan be seen in a report for Catholic Social Services in Rock Island,Illinois, prepared by Proctor and Groze (1994) who examined risk factorsfor suicide among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths. Adolescent depression and suicide in foster care populations. It is critical that support also be given to foster parents, who may experience feelings of helplessness, fear, guilt, and responsibility throughout the duration of the suicidal crisis. Also, there was a good deal of variability insexual behavior, and many youths reported both same-sex and opposite-sexexperiences. The authors reportedthat over half the sample had thoughts about suicide at some time, and 18percent had attempted suicide. The focus of the program is educational and includes reduction ofverbal and physical abuse, suicide prevention, and dissemination ofaccurate AIDS information. Environmental perceptions were assessed withMoos' Community Oriented Programs Environment Scale (foster care residents)and Moos' Family Environment Scale (control residents). Some programs designed to prevent suicide among homosexual youthstarget both caregivers and the young people themselves. The purposesof the study were to determine the personal challenges they faced due totheir sexual orientation and their responses to these stresses. Foster Care and Lesbian Youth There have been relatively few studies examining foster caresituations and lesbian or gay youth. Another very recent effort to help young gay/lesbian people in fostercare situations is to place these children with gay and lesbian fosterparents. Gay and lesbian youth: Contributing factors toserious attempts or considerations of suicide. (1991). Adoption and Foster Parenting for lesbians and Gay Men: Creating New Traditions in Family. (p.185)Although these suggestions are for the general population, it seemsreasonable to suppose that they would be of strong benefit to fosterparents working with gay and lesbian youth, especially since the reviewedliterature has clearly shown that they are, because of increased pressures,one of the groups of young people particularly at risk for suicide. However, all significant depression and hopelessness scores wereattributable to female group home residents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 228-242.Charles, G. Change was assessed in two posttests. However, it wasconcluded that although the causal link between these stressors andoutcomes has not been scientifically established, there is suggestiveevidence that these outcomes (e.g. (1994). Suicide attempts wereacknowledged by 42 percent of the sample. 1814.Morrow, D.F. Additionally, comparison ofthe demographic characteristics of the foster care residents and controlgroup adolescents indicated that they were from distinctly differentbackgrounds. The research indicated that awareness of sexual orientation typicallyoccurred at age 1 years, but disclosure to another person did not occuruntil about age 16 years. Evaluations of environmentalplacements were largely positive and did not differ significantly betweengroups. The study was based on existing literature indicating a highersuicide rate among these youth groups than among heterosexual groups.Subjects in the study were 221 self-identified gay, lesbian, and bisexualyouths (mean age 18.5 years) who attended youth groups across the UnitedStates and Canada. As just noted, the research that specifically examines lesbian youthin foster care is sparse. Findings showed that experimental subjects had significantly morepositive scores on the affective and cognitive measures but did not differon the behavioral measure. Almost all of the lesbians in the survey were socially connected andhad a variety of social supports, mostly within the lesbian community.However, few had come out to all family members and coworkers. High School Journal, 77(1-2), 1 8-112. Findings revealed that 4 .3 percent of the youths questioned hadattempted suicide, and 25.8 percent had seriously considered suicide. In Christensen and Sorenson's (1994) study, thirty-five child andyouth worker students participated in one of two six-hour programs. Nearly one-half of the sample in Hammelman's (1993) study hadseriously considered suicide, while one-third actually attempted suicide.Close to three-quarters of those surveyed cited sexual orientation as someor most of the reason for their suicide consideration or attempt with themajority revealing that they had done so at age 17 or before. Journal ofFamily Law, 25(3), 577-597.Uribe, V. Additionally, thestudy hoped to identify critical mediating variables that help determinethe effectiveness of the institutional foster care system on the overalladjustment of the adolescents whose life circumstances have mandated theirplacement there. Level ofopenness about lesbianism was associated with less fear of exposure andwith more choices about mental health counseling. Afurther measure of suicidal intent was derived from a single item on theBeck Depression Inventory. Although most young people in D'Augelli and Hershberger's (1993)study had told at least one family member about their sexual orientation,there remained much concern about family reactions. & Achtenberg, R. National lesbian Health Care Survey: Implications for mental health care. Group means on all three measures did notdiffer significantly four weeks later. McKinney (1987) also examined depression and suicide in foster carepopulations; however, her findings indicated that foster care youth may notbe at as high a degree of risk as previously thought. Journal of Gay and LesbianPsychotherapy, 2(1), 77-89.Mallon, G. The report ends with a discussion of steps that can betaken to remediate the pressures leading to suicidal behavior for lesbianyouth in foster care. Indeed, according to Charles and Matheson (1991),poor problem-solving and social skills, anger, and a sense of psychologicalisolation are common to both groups, as well as is family turmoil. (1993). However, before examining the littleresearch that does exist on suicide and lesbian youth in foster care, it isimportant to realize that, in general, many young people coming into statecare have life histories similar to those of individuals who have attemptedor committed suicide. A new issue in foster parenting-gays. SUICIDE PREVENTION FOR LESBIANS IN FOSTER CARE Introduction The purpose of this paper is to examine the current literature onsuicide prevention efforts designed for lesbian youth in foster caresituations. Christensen and Sorenson (1994) have also addressed the issue of howsocial workers can be particularly helpful in stopping lesbian and gayyouth from suicide. In a search of over ten data bases (e.g.PsychInfo, PAIS International, Social Studies Abstracts, ERIC, etc.), onlya few studies could be found. Six percent of the sample drank alcohol daily. The high rates of attempted suicide and serious consideration ofsuicide that is present in the general lesbian population is also presentin the specific population subset of young lesbian and gay people. Suggestions include: increasing personal awareness of one's ownhomophobia; educating oneself and client groups about homosexuality;establishing positive social support programs to serve lesbian and gayadolescents; advocating for sanctions to end gay and lesbian harassment inthe educational system; supporting the hiring of openly gay and lesbianteachers; and advocating for the inclusion of sexual orientation in schoolsex education curricula. (1993-1994). They recommend advocacyefforts to assist in overcoming these barriers. "Social work with gay and lesbian adolescents": Erratum. Control subjects wereadolescents from these same boroughs who resided with their families. Social Work, 39(2), p.166Proctor, C.D. In addition,fifty percent or more of those who (1) had a substance abuse problem, (2)were physically or emotionally abused, or (3) experienced family rejection,reported that sexual orientation was the main reason for these problems. & Matheson, J. In their comprehensive review of the research on the verbal andphysical abuse that threatens the well-being and physical survival oflesbian, gay male, and bisexual youths, Savin-Williams (1994) found thatfindings were mixed and marred by poor methodology. running away from home, conflict withthe law, attempted suicide, etc.) are primarily the consequences of verbaland physical harassment over sexual orientation. Twenty of the youngpeople examined in the study were females and 28 were males. Subjects in the study were drawn from New York Cityboroughs who had recently been placed in foster care. Savin-Williams (1994) reports that a common theme identified inempirical studies and clinical reports of lesbian, gay male, and bisexualyouths is the chronic stress that is created by the verbal and physicalabuse they receive from peers and adults. Suicide Among Lesbian YouthsPrevalence Rates and Causative Factors To what degree are lesbians at risk for suicide and other physicallydestructive behaviors. However, the authors report that there remainmany social and legal barriers to this solution. As part of their efforts, the authors designed aprogram addressing caregivers' attitudes, behavior and cognitions, thepurpose of the program being to effect and maintain positive attitudestoward gay and lesbian youth by caregivers. According to Uribe (1993-1994), although only preliminary data has been collected, results seempromising in helping these young people to cope with their situations andget the help they need. Steps That Can Be Taken To Remediate the Situation Foster care placement, assessment, and ongoing monitoring ofservices, according to Morrow (1994) involves continued interactionsbetween lesbian youths and their social workers. & Rothblum, E.D. Project 1 : A school-based outreach to gay and lesbian youth. These goals are carried out through workshopsfor teachers, counselors, and other support personnel, and through supportgroups set up on each senior high school campus for students dealing withsexual orientation issues. As the authors put it: Foster parents can help professionals determine suicidal risk by noting the presence of indicators, and charting significant behavioral changes over time. Special Issue: Child welfare around the world. Suicide prevention and intervention with young people in foster care in Canada. Canada Child Welfare, 7 (2), 185-191.Christensen, S. About three fourthsof the sample had received counseling at some time, and half had done sofor reasons of sadness and depression. (1994). Oneprogram provided increased exposure to gay/lesbian lives; the other programexamined youth suicide. (1989). Results were said to indicate thatnegative attitudes can be moderated among this very important care-givingpopulation. Therefore, if general problems resulting in foster care areassociated with increased risk for suicide, it can be seen that theadditional problem of coping with sexual orientation differences can be anadded pressure intensifying the risk of suicide for lesbian youth. In this regard,Uribe (1993-1994) described Project 1 , a model school program thataddresses the underserved needs of gay and lesbian students. The33.9 percent of the sample who had neither made a suicide attempt northought about it seriously possessed internal and external qualities thatenabled them to cope well in the face of discrimination, loneliness, andisolation. In another study of the suicide risk among homosexual youth D'Augelliand Hershberger (1993) studied 194 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth (aged15-21 years) who attended programs in 14 community centers. & Sorenson, L.M. teachers, counselors, etc.) be more aware ofthe specific challenges faced by lesbian and gay students and the need forgreat sensitivity in assisting students to meet these challenges. Therefore, Morrow (1994)states, one solution to the problem of suicide is to assist social workersto be more sensitive to the fact that these young people are at risk.Morrow offers several suggestions are made for improving intervention withthis population of young women. With respect to causative factors involved in suicide, survey datarevealed that 37 percent of the sample had been physically abused as achild or adult, 32 percent had been raped or sexually attacked, and 19percent had been involved in incestuous relationships while growing up.Regarding other self-destructive and unhealthful behaviors, Bradford, Ryanand Rothblum (1994) reported that almost one third of the women surveyedused tobacco on a daily basis, and about 3 percent drank alcohol more thanonce a week. Ricketts and Achtenberg (1989) have explored these new familystructures and noted that many have shown fairly good success rates forhelping these young people. Risk factors for suicide among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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