In states in the United States that have legalized marriage for all, suicide rates among gay and bisexual teens have declined.
The benefits of opening marriage to same-sex couples are very real. According to a study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, the introduction of this measure was accompanied by a significant decrease in suicide rates among homosexual and bisexual high school students nationwide.
The work compared data in states in the United States that legalized gay marriage before January 2015 to those in states that did not. According to the authors, the fact of having adopted this measure is associated with a decrease of 135,000 suicides in secondary education, most of which concern young gays, lesbians or bisexuals.
14% fewer suicides
To reach this conclusion, the researchers used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a study conducted by the US CDC on young people. The data includes 32 of the 35 states that legalized marriage for all between January 2004 and January 2015. To capture trends, the authors looked at the five-year periods leading up to the passage of the law in these states.
However, according to their observations, the passage of state laws opening marriage to all couples was associated with a reduction of 7% in the suicide rate in high school, all populations combined, and of 14% for adolescents from “minorities” ( gays, lesbians, bisexuals). This effect was noticeable for two years after the passage of the law. In states that have not adopted this legislation, the rates have remained stable.
Population at risk
“Allowing people of the same sex to marry reduces the structural stigmas associated with sexual orientation”, explain the authors, who see in this work the demonstration of the impact of social policies on behavior. “It is likely that having the same rights as others – even if these high school students do not plan to get married immediately – allows young people to feel less stigmatized and more optimistic about the future.”
However, the authors do not know if it is the legislative change itself which constitutes the factor of reduction of the risk of suicide, or the media campaign and the noise around this law.
Note that from June 2015, marriage for all was adopted at the federal level. In the United States, young gays, lesbians and bisexuals constitute a population at high risk of suicide, the authors point out. In 2015, nearly a third of these young people attempted to kill themselves, compared to 6% among heterosexual adolescents.
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