“Coming Out” Linked to Increased Suicide Risk in Sexual Minority Youth

MONDAY, Dec. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For sexual minority youth, identity disclosure is associated with an increased risk for suicide intention, plan, and attempt, according to a study published online Dec. 3 in Pediatrics.

Samuel Mann, Ph.D., from RAND Corporation in Arlington, Virginia, and Harry Barbee, Ph.D., from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, conducted a retrospective study using data from the Generations Study (2016 to 2019) to estimate the dynamic association between sexual identity disclosure (“coming out”) and suicide intention, plan, and attempt.

The researchers found that identity disclosure to a family member was associated with a within-person increased risk for suicide intention, plan, and attempt (8, 10, and 6 percentage points, respectively). Increased risks for suicide intention, plan, and attempt were also seen in association with identity disclosure to a friend (10, 12, and 6 percentage points, respectively). These increases in suicide risk occurred around the timing of identity disclosure; in subsequent years, they increased in magnitude.

“Our results have implications for public health practice and policy,” the authors write. “Policies that reduce stigma, such as antidiscrimination protections, inclusive school curricula, and expanded access to affordable mental health care, may reduce suicide risk among sexual minorities.”

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