Mental Health Service Use Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults Who Report Having Attempted Suicide

This study estimated mental health service use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults in the United States who reported having made a suicide attempt.

Data came from the pooled 2015-2019 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. Of the 191,954 adult respondents, 1,946 reported a past-year suicide attempt. Survey-weighted descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to compare mental health service use among LGB and heterosexual adults.

Three percent of LGB adults (N=598) reported having attempted suicide in the past year, compared with 0.5% of heterosexual adults (N=1,348). Mental health treatment use was significantly higher among LGB adults than among heterosexual adults (64% versus 56%) before analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics.

Because suicide attempts and mental health use are elevated among LGB adults, clinicians must provide evidence-based approaches for identifying and managing suicide risk to LGB adults in an affirming manner.