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Passionate Fan
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,745
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B.C. researcher says American group distorting her research on teen suicide
Once again, I am lulled by the gentle gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, because it sure beats whatever it is that Focus on the Family is peddling!
Quote:
B.C. researcher says American group distorting her research on teen suicide
BETH GORHAM
WASHINGTON (CP) - A Canadian researcher says a conservative U.S. religious group has "hijacked" her research on lesbian teen suicide to support its beliefs.
Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, said Monday that Focus on the Family is incorrectly blaming an increased rate of suicide attempts on "pro-gay advocates" who tell lesbians they were born gay and must "embrace homosexuality."
Saewyc, research director at the McCreary Centre Society, released provincial statistics last month suggesting a rising risk of suicide among lesbian and bisexual female teens.
"Population surveys can't give you cause and effect, although they can suggest relationships or links," she said.
"The research has been hijacked for somebody's political purposes or ideological purposes and that's worrisome."
In fact, said Saewyc, American studies have noted that gay teenagers are at the highest risk of suicide before they come out of the closet. After that, they do quite well unless they're harassed.
"If they're trying to kill themselves because they're embracing homosexuality, one would logically conclude they should all be suicidal," said Saewyc.
Suicide attempts among heterosexual teens are also often associated with harassment, discrimination and violence, she said.
Results of the McCreary study, which surveyed more than 30,000 students in Grades 7 through 12 in 2003, were presented at a Vancouver conference of the Canadian Public Health Association.
The survey found that 38 per cent of lesbian teens and 30.4 per cent of bisexual teen girls had attempted suicide the year before.
That's up from similar surveys in 1992, when the risk of suicide was about one in five, or 20 per cent, and 1998, when the rate climbed to one in four, or 25 per cent.
The rates compare with just 8.2 per cent for heterosexual girls, a figure that's stayed about the same through the years.
Melissa Fryrear, a public policy analyst at Focus on the Family, is quoted on the group's website as saying there's a reason why the suicide figures are so high.
"Regrettably, they think they have to embrace homosexuality because pro-gay advocates told them that they were born gay. And that is absolutely not true."
In an interview, Fryrear noted the Christian-based ministry has always believed that homosexuality isn't genetic but rather developmentally rooted and outside the biblical sexual ethic.
"We have talked to thousands of men and women who have struggled with homosexuality. We have seen so many people who were depressed or suicidal because they didn't want to live homosexually," she said.
"Or they may have been sexually abused in the past."
Some clinical studies, including one by Dr. Robert Spitzer, have linked contemplating suicide to unwanted attractions to the same sex, she said.
The group held a conference called Love Won Out last weekend in Silver Spring, Md., dedicated to presenting the "truth about homosexuality," including the view that it's possible "to walk away" from it.
"My life as a former homosexual who is now happily married with two children undermines the mantra that homosexuality is genetic and unchangeable," host Mike Haley states on the website.
Truth Wins OUT, a non-profit group in Miami Beach, Fla., organized to counter right-wing "propaganda," said Focus on the Family has "attempted a sick spin on tragedy."
"Lesbian, gay and questioning teens commit suicide because of the shame and ostracism that Focus on the Family peddles every day," said executive director Wayne Besen.
Besen said his group will be tracking efforts by the religious right to "push anti-gay pseudo-science" in North American schools.
The McCreary survey found that among males, 8.8 per cent of homosexual, 12.8 per cent of bisexual and 3.3 per cent of heterosexual teens reported attempting suicide in the previous year.
"It's getting higher for (girls) and that's something we're concerned about," said Saewyc.
"We don't want people drawing inaccurate conclusions."
© The Canadian Press, 2006
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