ABSTRACT
It has been suggested that there is a strong relationship between suicidal behavior and homosexuality in adolescence. It has been further suggested that it is due to the stigmatization and feelings of isolation that are experienced by many gay adolescents. Much of the literature that has given support to these hypotheses has been conducted on uncontrolled nonrepresentative samples and its generalizability is open to question. An opportunity to examine the relationship in an unselected sample arose in a case control, psychological autopsy study of 120 of 170 consecutive suicides under age 20 and 147 community age, sex, and ethnic matched controls living in the Greater New York City area. Homosexuality was defined as having had homosexual experiences or having declared a homosexual orientation. Three teenagers and no controls met these criteria. The difference was not significant. The circumstances of death were examined and are described. In no instance did suicide directly follow an episode of stigmatization. All three suicides had evidence of significant psychiatric disorder before death. In spite of opportunities for biased reporting, it is concluded that this study finds no evidence that suicide is a common characteristic of gay youth, or that when suicide does occur among gay teenagers, that it is a direct consequence of stigmatization or lack of support.
Subject(s)
Gender Identity , Homosexuality, Female/psychology , Homosexuality, Male/psychology , Suicide/psychology , Urban Population , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , New York City , Personality Assessment , Prejudice , Sexual Behavior , Social Support , Suicide PreventionABSTRACT
A 5-week double-blind study compared amoxapine to imipramine (2:1 dosage ratio) in the treatment of depressed outpatients. The two agents were similar in anti-depressant efficacy and rapidity of action. The most common adverse reactions to both drugs were anticholinergic effects and sedation; cardiovascular effects were minimal. A few amoxapine-treated patients developed adverse effects typical of neuroleptic drugs: some experienced extrapyramidal signs, one developed galactorrhea, and most showed elevated plasma prolactin concentrations. Amoxapine was associated with significant neuroleptic activity in plasma. No correlation was found between blood levels of either drug and therapeutic response.
