Lesbians, gays and bisexuals 'more likely to encounter mental health problems’

1^st February 2011 - Mental health problems are more widespread among gay, lesbian and bisexual people in England than the heterosexual population.

A new study suggests that discrimination may be partly to blame.

The research is published in the latest edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry.

It found that depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobia, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and alcohol and drug dependence were more common among people who were gay, lesbian or bisexual (LGB).

Worrying findings

Lead researcher, Dr Apu Chakraborty, described the findings as “very worrying”.

Despite the fact there are plenty of gay and lesbian role models on television, in the media and in sport, the word `gay` is still bandied about by school children as a term of abuse.

Dominic Davies, director of Pink Therapy, the UK’s largest therapy organisation working with sexual minority clients, tells us, “Living in a world which treats sexual minorities as mad, bad and dangerous to know, causes mental health distress and leads many people to self-medicating the stress through drugs and alcohol.”

The data

Psychiatrists from University College London and the University of Leicester studied the rates of mental health disorder among almost seven and a half thousand adults living in the UK.

Among the results:

• 4.1% of non-heterosexual people reported having had a depressive episode within the last week compared to only 2.1% of heterosexual people
• 10.4% of non-heterosexual people reported alcohol dependence compared to 5.4% of heterosexual people
• 8.6% of non-heterosexual people reported self-harming compared to 4.6% of heterosexual people

Overall, 40% of heterosexual people described themselves as being fairly or very happy, compared to just 30% of non-heterosexual people.

Link between discrimination and mental health

The researchers also found that non-heterosexual people were significantly more likely to have experienced discrimination because of their sexual orientation.

This study is the first time the mental health and well-being of LGB people has been examined in a random sample of the general population.

“Our study confirms earlier work carried out in the UK, USA and Holland which suggests that non-heterosexual people are at higher risk of mental disorder, suicidal ideation, substance misuse and self-harm than heterosexual people,” Chakraborty said in a statement.

Tim Franks from PACE, the UK’s leading charity promoting the mental health and well-being of the gay and lesbian community, tells us that the research contributed “further to the clear, consistent and strong evidence for a serious mental health inequality that exists for LGB people”.

He says most mainstream mental health services are still not monitoring sexual orientation or are inadequately prepared to meet the needs of this client group.

“Users continue to report hostile or inappropriate responses to their identities. Anything that illuminates this issue further and encourages action on this problem is a welcome addition.”