Psychological and Suicidal Distress among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual College Students

This project examined the increased tendency towards suicidality in cisgender LGB college students as compared to their cisgender heterosexual counterparts. The responses of 1,503 LGB college students to a survey distributed by the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education (RC) in 2011 were analyzed. Given the increased propensity toward suicidal distress in LGB college students, this study next sought to elucidate the mechanics by which suicidality evolves in this population. The objective of this project was to determine whether minority stress factors (sexual orientation concerns, discrimination, victimization, and campus climate) have a relationship with suicidal ideation in LGB college students as mediated by the interpersonal factors of thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and sense of coherence. This project tested relationships drawn from the minority stress model, the interpersonal theory of suicide, as well as sense of coherence to understand their impact on the development and escalation of suicidal ideation in LGB college students. It was found that the stressors of sexual orientation concerns, victimization, and discrimination acted directly on thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. In addition, the stressors indirectly influenced the development of suicidality through thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Campus climate was found to be a protective factor for LGB students. Sense of coherence was not only a mediator of the stress factors, but also acted directly upon thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Implications for higher education administrators and campus mental health professionals, as well as directions for future research are also discussed.