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...

11 Pages / 2475 Words 13 sources, 21 Citations, APA Format $44.00 Return to List of Papers

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