Suicide Prevention Interventions for Sexual & Gender Minority Youth: An Unmet Need

Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death in the U.S. among youth ages 10 to 24. Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth face heightened risk for suicide and report greater odds of attempting suicide than their heteronormative peers. Contributing factors of experience, which are distinctly different from the experiences of heteronormative youth, place SGM youth at heightened risk for suicide. While interventions aimed at addressing suicide risk factors for all youth are being implemented and many have proven effective in the general population, no evidence-based intervention currently exists to reduce suicide risk within this special population. This perspective article discusses this need and proposes the development of an evidence-based suicide risk reduction intervention tailored to SGM youth. Creating a supportive school climate for SGM youth has been shown to reduce suicide risk and may provide protective effects for all youth while simultaneously meeting the unique needs of SGM youth.