Importance of Family: Can Being “Out” to Family Buffer the Association Between LGBTQ-Specific Victimization and Lifetime Suicide Attempts?

Objectives: Sexual minorities experience elevated rates of victimization and suicidality (Shields, 2011). In some cases, identity disclosure may protect against suicidality (Morris, 2001). However, less is known about the effects of outness to one’s family. We analyzed family outness as a moderator in the association between victimization and reported number of lifetime suicide attempts.

Methods: 730 sexual minority adults (M age = 29.99, SD = 13.84) were recruited nationally from university-affiliated LGBTQ groups, community organizations, and Facebook. Hypotheses were tested using negative binomial regression. Covariates included age, gender, ethnicity, sexual identity, depression, anxiety, and general (i.e., non-family specific) outness.

Results: 28% reported one or more suicide attempts (Range = 0 - 50, M = .73, SD = 2.46). The interaction model was significant, omnibus X² = 205.53, df = 14, p < .001, AIC = 1364.07. As hypothesized, family outness moderated the positive association between victimization and number of lifetime suicide attempts, b = -.20, Wald X² = 12.86, df = 1, p < .001. A simple effect for victimization remained beyond the interaction, b = .60, Wald X² = 49.61, df = 1, p < .001.

Conclusions: Family outness weakened the association between victimization and suicide risk, suggesting that the extent to which sexual identity is known and openly talked about within the family serves as a protective factor. These findings have important clinical and public health implications regarding family involvement and future suicide prevention and intervention efforts. Future directions, limitations, and implications will be discussed.