This study examined the association between multiple minority statuses and reports of suicidal thoughts, depression, and self-esteem among adolescents. Data from the Na- tional Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to examine mental health outcomes across racial/ethnic groups for same-sex-attracted youths and female youths. Hispanic/Latino, African American, and White female adolescents reported more sui- cidal thoughts, higher depression, and lower self-esteem compared with male adolescents in their racial/ethnic group. Same-sex-attracted youths did not consistently demonstrate compromised mental health across racial/ethnic groups. Follow-up analyses show that White same-sex-attracted female adolescents reported the most compromised mental health compared with other White adolescents. However, similar trends were not found for racial/ethnic minority female youths with same-sex attractions.

Other Authors
  1. Theodora B. Consolacion
  2. Stanley Sue