Understanding the relationship of religious identity conflict and suicide in sexual minority youth

Background: Sexual minority youth (SMY) mature in contexts that espouse anti-homosexual values. For many youth these contexts are defined by religious belief. A Minority Stress framework explains that religious environments exact stress on SMY, which can lead to religious and sexual identity conflict. To date no known study has quantitatively established a link between identity conflict and suicide within this population. Method: A secondary data analysis was conducted using data collected by OutProud in 2000 via an internet-survey sample recruited though in-print media and websites, which cater to SMY. Of 5,281 U.S. respondents, 18-24 years old, 2,949 were included in this analysis. Three indicators of identity conflict, an internalized homophobia (IH) scale, and two suicide variables were measured. Analysis included logistic regressions to establish relationships between conflict measures and suicide, and to determine the extent to which IH mediates these relationships. Results: All three indicators are associated with higher odds of suicidal thoughts. Internalized homophobia fully mediated one relationship and partially mediated the remaining. Leaving one's religion due to conflict had a dual relationship with suicide (directly increasing the odds, and indirectly via IH decreasing the odds). Conclusion: SMY who mature in religious contexts, which facilitate identity conflict, are at higher odds for suicide compared to other SMY. Internalized homophobia accounts for portions of this conflict. Although leaving one's religion due to conflict may appear to suggest an adaptive response for SMY, it also is associated with higher odds of suicide. Further research is needed to investigate this complex relationship.