You just found out that your child is lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB). Now what? One reaction that parents may have is to outwardly reject their child because of his or her sexual orientation. A few examples of rejecting behavior include not allowing the child to participate in family gatherings, preventing him from having gay friends, or blaming him when he is victimized or harassed by peers because of his sexual orientation. A recent study from the Family Acceptance Project™ at San Francisco State University finds that many health and mental health problems in adulthood are linked to the rejection LGB individuals experience from their families as youth (Ryan, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2009).
What are the Consequences of Family Rejection?
- In general, family rejection during adolescence is linked to higher rates of health and mental health problems in young adults, including suicidal thoughts, actual suicide attempts, high levels of depression, illegal drug use, substance use and abuse, and sexual risk taking behaviors.
- The number of rejecting behaviors that young people experience from family members related to their LGB identity is crucial to health. As the level of family rejection increases, the LGB young person’s risk for serious negative health problems also increases.
- Compared to LGB young people who experience little to no family rejection during adolescence, those who report high levels of family rejection were at high risk for negative health problems as young adults. They were:
- More than 8 times as likely to have attempted suicide.
- Nearly 6 times as likely to report high levels of depression.
- More than 3 times as likely to use illegal drugs.
- More than 3 times as likely to have unprotected sex.
- The negative health problems experienced by youth whose families reject them restrict their life chances and opportunities.
What Can Family Members Do To Prevent Problems for LGB Youth?
Family members can seek support, education, and resources to help them better understand their child or relative’s LGB identity. Research from the Family Acceptance Project™ shows that family rejection significantly affects an LGB young person’s health and well-being. In follow up work, researchers found that even a little change in increasing parental support for LGB youth appears to have a clear impact on decreasing their risk.
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