SCIENCE BRIEFING
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Young gay people whose parents responded negatively when they revealed their sexual orientation were more than eight times as likely to attempt suicide, nearly six times as vulnerable to severe depression and more than three times at likely to use drugs as those whose families accepted the news, according to a study released Monday.
Researchers at San Francisco State University also found that being forbidden to associate with gay peers was as damaging to youths as being beaten or verbally abused by their parents.
Their report, published in this month’s issue of Pediatrics, is the first to establish a link between health problems in gay youths and their home environments.
