'I feel so alone… I am nobody, and I am nothing'. A psychosocial autopsy study on adolescent girls' suicide, with a focus on sexual orientation.

Abstract

This study aimed to understand suicide among LGB or Questioning (LGBQ) and heterosexual adolescent girls in the Netherlands and to examine the role of their sexual orientation to their suicide following the sexual minority stress framework. Narrative interviews with 35 survivors of 18 female adolescents' suicide cases revealed approximately half of the cases as LGBQ. Thematic analyses of informants perspectives demonstrated three life trajectories: (1) Trauma and stressors in childhood impacting mental health. (2) Onset of decreased mental health in adolescence without major external stressors. (3) Unexpected suicide in girls seemingly doing well. Regarding the minority stress framework, most LGBQ girls had faced some form of sexual minority stressors (LGB bullying, non-affirmation) from peers or family. Nevertheless, the minority stress the girls had been confronted with, had often been preceded by, or interlinked with other trauma, stressful life events, that is, general bullying, the experience of sexual abuse and family problems.