Arizona Study Examines Suicide Risk In Transgender Teens

By Ariana Bustos
Published: Friday, September 21, 2018 - 9:51pm
Updated: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 - 3:27pm
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A recent study by the University of Arizona examined suicide risk in transgender teens, taking a deeper look into subgroups of the community.

About 51 percent of transmasculine youth and 42 percent of non-binary adolescents reported attempting suicide. That was the highest suicide risk in the transgender community.

Russell Toomey, a University of Arizona professor and lead author, said other studies have looked at the whole of transgender youth, but haven’t examined subgroups.

“Prior research had shown that transgender youth were at heightened risk for suicide behaviors, but none had examined the possibility of within group differences among transgender youth, so how different subgroups of trans youth under that big umbrella might differ in terms of their risk," said Toomey.

Toomey said understanding whether a difference among groups exists is important for suicide prevention and intervention, particularly that tailored for transgender youth. 

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. 

Trans Lifeline can be reached at 877-565-8860.

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