Study: High schools with gay-straight alliances have reduced risk of student suicide

[Canadian] research suggests anti-homophobic policies benefit high school students regardless of sexual orientation 
From Salon.com, January 24, 2014
By Aaron Cantú, AlterNet

Image Source:  Flickr Creative Commons

The presence of gay-straight alliance (GSA) groups in schools reduces the risk of suicide among both LGBTQ and straight teens, according to a study published in the International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies and funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

Using data from the 2008 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey for grades 8-12, the study found that in schools where gay-straight alliance groups have been in existence for three or more years:

• The odds of homophobic discrimination and suicidal thoughts were reduced by more than half among lesbian, gay, bisexual boys and girls compared to schools with no GSA.
• There were also significantly lower odds of sexual orientation discrimination for heterosexual boys and girls.
• Heterosexual boys were half as likely to attempt suicide as those in schools without GSAs.

Gay-straight alliance groups stem back to the late 1980′s, when discussions of sexuality were much less open than they are today. GSA’s have proliferated in universities and secondary schools since then, with the goal of creating safe spaces on campus for all students–regardless of sexual orientation.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

- Submitted by Gareth