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In Memory Of . . .	Have Some Deans of Social Work been...? Answer
The U.S. Surgeon General will help? The Oct. 1998 Reno Conference. Notes	GB Male AIDS Problem = Suicide Problems? A New Page
Better be Dead Than Gay? Self-Harm, Suicide Attempts, and Suicides.	A New GLBT Web-Based Education - Index Page 20 Subjects!
Determined to Die Calgary Gay Youth Attempts Suicide	Determined to Die An Edmonton Gay(?) Youth Commits Suicide
For The Site Visitors With Little Time to Spare: *GB Male Suicidality at a Glance! Results of 30 studies in four tables/categories.*	"The Homosexuality Factor" Associated with almost 40% of the more serious suicide attempts: The 1995 Seattle Schools YRBS Study. Homophobia Effect ?
All Youth Risk Behavior Survey Studies with "Homosexuality" Information Now on: *One Web Page*	Studies which have Solicited "Homosexuality" Information from Adolescents / Youth may have *GREAT ERRORS!*

Links To . . .

GB Male Suicide Problems

GB Male Suicide Studies

GLB Suicide Problems

U.S. School Studies

Australian Initiatives

A European GLB
Suicide Problem ?

White Ribbon Campaign

Save-The-World Factor

An Answer to. . .

A Serious Problem

with Professionals

Problems in Suicidology
and Other Professions

Murder by Proxy ?
The Killing Fields ?

Educated to Kill ? A
Double Lesbian Suicide .

A GLBT Web-Link
Education - 20 Subjects

Master Index - New Info

Internet Infosearch

GB Male Suicide Problems

An extensive collection of information related to Gay/Bisexual Male Suicidality.

Internet Resource Links -

- Bibliography with Links to Abstracts available on the WEB -

- Abstracts or Research Highlights -

- PhD. and Master's Thesis Abstracts.

Suicidality Problems of Gay & Bisexual Male Youth. (12/96, 05/97)

The paper (by C. Bagley and P. Tremblay) was in its final form by December, 1996, and it was published in Bagley, C. & Ramsay, R., Ed. (1997) Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescents and AdultsAshgate Publishers, Aldershot, Hampshire, England, pp. 177-195. A shorter version of the paper available at this website was published in Crisis, The International Journal of Suicide and Crisis Studies, Vol. 18(1), 1997, pp. 24-34, under the title Suicidal Behavior in Homosexual and Bisexual Males. The abstract is available on a CRISIS webpage.) A July 1996 first draft of the paper was tabled in the Alberta Legislative Assembly on August 26, 1996.

Demographic Study on the Incidence of Homosexuality in the Male Youth Population. (11/96) CAVEAT ALERT! (08/98)

This paper (by C. Bagley and P. Tremblay) is based on the same random sample of young adult males which produced the above "suicidality" paper, and it has important implication with respect to the percentage of homosexual/bisexual individuals in the male population. About 12% of males were deemed homosexual/bisexual based on self-identification and/or being currently homosexually active. The July 1996 first draft of the paper was also tabled in the Alberta Legislative Assembly on August 26, 1996. The two papers report data produced in a major research project funded by Grant # 498-89-0020 from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The paper is now published as On the prevalence of homosexuality and bisexuality in a random community survey of 750 men aged 18 to 27, The Journal of Homosexuality, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 1-18, 1998.

Caveat Alert!: A 1998 study indicates that many studies have underestimated - by about 400% - the percentage of young males who are (have been) homosexually active. This result is similar to the underestimates indicated by the Bagley and Tremblay Demographic Study results. Major implications are noted.

Gay and Bisexual Male Youth: Overrepresented in Suicide Problems and Associated Risk Factors. (09/97)

The paper (by P. Tremblay in collaboration with Richard Ramsay, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary) was prepared for distribution at The Third Bi-Regional Adolescent Suicide Prevention Conference in Breckenridge, Colorado, September, 1997. On the basis of a review of the research literature, gay and bisexual males have been (are) overrepresented in most suicide-related factors recognized by mainstream suicidologists.

GLB Suicide Problems

The Homosexuality Factor In The Youth Suicide Problem. (10/95)

The 33-page paper by P. Tremblay was presented at the 6th Annual Convention of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, October 1995. Although the paper's focus is gay/bisexual males, one section (and the tables of data) presents suicidality information related to the lesbian and gay/lesbian/bisexual of colour populations.

On August 11, The Trevor Project launched The Trevor Helpline, the first round-the-clock national toll-free suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth. It's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Teens with nowhere to turr can call 800-850-8078.

The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem. (2nd Edition, 1994)

The 215 page book (with an Alberta focus) explores the suicidal problems of North American GLB youth of all colours, related problems (including indifference and abuse in GLB communities), and the serious problems with professionals who have generally ignored these issues. The book also supplies the reader with the basic knowledge needed to understand gay, lesbian and bisexual youth and their challenges. This understanding is imperative for all seeking to help these youth by alleviating the societal pressures which have contributed to their suicides. For information about The Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem follow this link. - Author's Biography. - Author's "homobio" relating to his childhood and adolescence published by Bagley (1997).. - Photographs of the author at a young age.

Six parts of the book, The Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem are now available online:

An Appendix containing a published 1991 investigative report on what Alberta professionals working with children and adolescents were doing to help "at risk" GLB children & adolescents. - A 1998 update. - This report led to writing the 1991 52-page report, Gay and Lesbian Youth Need our Help, submitted to Jim Dinning, Alberta's Minister of Education.

Update 1996: A summary of events which occurred since 1994 is given, along with additional information related to GLB suicide problems, such as child sexual abuse.

The chapter, The "Gay Factor" In The Street Youth Problem, which is related to male youth prostitution. - A 1998 update. - Internet resources related to male youth prostitution.

The Additional Problems of GLB Youth of Colour: (11/94, 03/98) - Internet Resources related to North American and International GLB People of Colour Issues. - Supplementary Information.

A Calgary Gay Youth Attempts Suicide. (2/99) Illustrates how some gay youth, even by the age of 13, are most determined to kill themselves.

The Suicide of Bobby Steele. The story also illustrates how researchers such as David Shaffer would have failed to discover that Bobby was homosexually active and even linked to Edmonton's gay community. Such seriously flawed research - rooted in a great ignorance of adolescent homosexual realities - has contributed to mainstream suicidology generally ignoring homosexuality issues in youth suicide research, intervention, and prevention.

The negative effects of racist white-dominated GLB communities on GLB people of colour is noted, along with other problems faced in the greater society and in their own ethnic/racial groups - commonly more homophobic than white cultures. Additional "racism" information from the United States is also supplied. The issue of racism in Calgary's GLB community was addressed only in 1993 in a gay/lesbian magazine - and at a Gay Pride function in the same year, but it continues to be ignored even in the one-year-old Calgary GLB community magazine OUTLOOKS. The magazine, however, has also ignored the GB youth suicide problem which often continues after the "at risk" individuals have made more formal contact with GB institutions. Several GLB individuals of colour in the "leader" category (such as Kevin DeSouza, Susanda Ya, and Paul Fernadez) have left Calgary in complete disgust with the Calgary situation.

Internet Survey of GLBT Youth Reports High Suicide Attempt Rate. (03/98)

1,953 GLBT youth responded to 1997 Internet survey. Suicide attempt rate 22% and more than half the attempters (62%) are repeat attempters averaging 2.7 suicide attempts. 37% of attempters attempted suicide 3 or more times. Mean age of first suicide attempt: 14.1 years. A full report related to a self-identified 10-year-old Calgary gay boy who attempted suicide (written by his mother and presented to the Calgary Board of Education in 1995) is available in The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem.

An Internet survey reports a 44% suicide attempt rate for 198 GLBT respondents (Average age = 31-years-old); 80% of the first suicide attempts occurred before the age of 20.

A survey of 255 GLB adults seeking counselling reports a suicide attempt rate of 41% and the average age of the first suicide attempt was 12-years-old. Almost one-third of the attempters attempted suicide 3 or more times.

U.S. School-Based Studies

Three 1995 American school-based studies report that GLB adolescents are at greater risk for suicidal behaviors. (1996-97)

Using a modified version of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from the Centers for Disease Control (the standard version still does not solicit information related to "sexual orientation), studies from Seattle, Massachusetts, and Vermont indicate that that homosexually oriented youth (definition varies) are at higher risk than their counterparts for having attempted suicide. Two of the studies also report them to be at even higher risk for suicide attempts resulting in medical attention. In 1998, one paper was published on the Massachusetts' 1995 data and another paper on the Vermont data. A third paper on a 1993 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (some "homosexuality" information solicited) was also published. All studies reported that homosexually oriented male youth were at greater risk than their heterosexual counterparts for having many problems, including suicidal problems. As of April, 1999, all information related to Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (1993, 1995, 1997) and the Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey (1987) is located on one webpage.

Caveat Alert!: A 1998 study indicates that the Youth Risk behavior Surveys would have underestimated - by about 400% - the percentage of young males who are (have been) homosexually active. This result is similar to the underestimates indicated by the Bagley and Tremblay (1998) Demographic Study results. Major implications are noted.

Data from the Seattle Study also permitted the estimate that the negative effects of society's "traditional" homophobia are implicated in about 30% of the adolescent "attempted suicide" problem, and about 40% of the suicide attempt problem resulting in medical attention.

A 1998 analysis of a 1987 sample of Minnesota students indicates that GB male adolescents are at much greater risk for suicidal behaviors. (09/97, 03/98)

The 1998 Remafedi et al. analysis of a large grades 7 to 12 student sample (The American Journal of Public Health, Jan., 1998) reports that gay/bisexual male adolescents were 7-times more likely to have attempted suicide than their heterosexual counterparts. (Lesbian and bisexual female adolescents were about 1.5-times more at risk for being suicide attempters than heterosexual female adolescents, but this was not statistically significant. There are indications, however, that lesbian and bisexual female adolescents of colour were at the highest risk for having suicidal problems. Related news item.)

A 1998 analysis of a 1987 sample of Minnesota students replicates the 30% average for reported lifetime suicide attempt incidence in community samples of GLB youth. (04/99)

Some information is now available on three 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys: Wisconsin, Oregon, San Francisco, and Connecticut. (03/99)

Washington State Governor's "Model" Letter to All Washington State School Superintendents.

Internet Resources related to School Issues .

White Ribbon Campaign

Raising Awareness about Gay-Teen Suicide
And remembering those who we've lost
[Mirror Site]

From "gayzone" - Gay Teens' Resource Center

Memorial: For gay teenageers who were lost through homophobia.
(Includes Links to Related Information)

The Adams et al. 1996 Study !
Homophobic Males = Homosexuals ?
Super "STW" Implications !

"Is homophobia Associated With Homosexual Arousal" by Adams, HE., et al. (1996) - This May Be The Most Important Paper Published in Psychology in 100 years ! (06/98)

About 60% of heterosexual-identified males in this study manifested sexual stimulation when viewing adult male homosexual erotica, meaning that about 70% of males would be in this category given that homosexual/bisexual-identified males were excluded from the study. The 70%, however, drops to 50% if only "definite sexual stimulation" is the criteria used. In 1948, Kinsey et al. reported that 50% of the males studied (about 5000 males) reported homosexual experiences or related desires not yet acted on. The implications of the Adams et al. (1996) study results are therefore monumental, and more so given the analysis / evaluation presented.

Internet Resources on the causes of homosexuality and the related debates.

Section Excerpts from The Homosexuality Factor in Social Violence by Pierre Tremblay (1992). The social programming of homohatred (includes homophobia) is evaluated to have produced many males who repress and deny the "homosexual" implications of their often common homo-sexual activities. The same social programming is also implicated in many aspects of social violence such as the production of male career delinquents (and related "trade" prostitution activities), the rapes of adolescent and young adult males in prisons, gay bashing and related murders, suicides, the sexual abuse of boys, and the sexual violence directed at women.

Save-The-World Factor

The Save-The-World Factor: Overview/Contents (01/99)

The Save-The-World Factor: Part 1 (12/96, 09/97)

The experiences of a Metis Counsellor with highly distressed First Nations Youth over a ten year period, an anomalous venture into understanding the SELF, and a suicide note by a 21-year-old Calgary male who decided to leave this world combine to produce the first part of a concept likely implicated in a significant number of suicides.

The Save-The-World Factor: Part 2 (09-11/97)

Reports on a short adventure in the world of schizophrenia which is associated with high suicide rates. The Save-The-World Factor - in the form of pathological "grandiosity" - is reported to be common in certain groups of schizophrenic individuals, but misinterpretations are suspected. It is possible that, under the threat of death resulting from The Factor's interaction with the socialized mind, other outcomes are possible such as the development of serious mental disorders.

The Save-The-World Factor: Part 3 (01/98)

Reports on how The Save-The-World Factor is also manifested in eating disorders. Many die as the result of these disorders which may be a form of suicide. The section was written soon after the publication of Peggy Claude-Pierre' book The Secret Language of Eating Disorders (September, 1997) in which eating disorders are said to be an unconscious form of suicide, but a different interpretation is given for the phenomenon. The adolescent gay male's higher risk for these disorders has implications which remain to be outlined and explained. Links are supplied to related information on the Internet.

The Save-The-World Factor: Ongoing Anorexia Case 'Study'(09/98 to 05/99)

In November, 1998, I was contacted by Miriam who reported a seven-year hsitory of anorexia and STW related issues. A study of her case began which has become a collaboration to render as much knowledge as possible about how the STW Factor applies in at least some cases of anorexia. Some very important human realities are also addressed. Additions to this section will be made as they are produced.

This Website Was Created By Pierre Tremblay With The Greatly Appreciated Help of Chris Hooymans, The Webmaster at Websight West and Former Publisher of CLUE! Magazine Which Was the Best Gay Magazine to Have Ever Been Published in Calgary. A Tragic "Downhill" Situation Has Existed Since Then, but a New Magazine ("Outlooks" http://www.outlooks.ab.ca) has Become Available (Premiere March Issue, 1997) and Shows Promise. Will it be another gay publication which avoids addressing important issues in insightful (even truthful) ways? Time will tell.
By September, 1998, the magazine had not ventured into any controversial - meaning "significant" - GLB community issues. Nothing "insightful" - beyond what has not worked for increasing "safer sex" practices by gay/bisexual males - has been printed. Silence is still being maintained with respect to racism problems, and nothing has been written about the most "at risk" gay and bisexual male adolescents and their problems often involving gay or bisexual men with whom they may be involved. Maybe, they could even write about a situation brought to my attention in September, 1998: A gay high school teacher walks into a Calgary gay club and sees that one of his male students - not yet of legal age to be in such a club - is stripping. This situation involves serious "ethical" issues, but related discussions are not occurring in Calgary's GLB community, nor at the Calgary Board of Education.

Other important ethical issues are: A Calgary gay high school teacher is approached by a gay male student who reports on his relationship with a middle-aged gay male television personality. The teacher knows that the TV personality is HIV+ but the boy does not know this. What should the teacher do? Are school counselors educated and trained to deal with such issues? If not, why not?

Email: Pierre Tremblay: ----- pierre@youth-suicide.com ----- (403) 245-8827

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