Abstract
Objective: To estimate the decline in adolescent suicide rates in temporal relation to enactment of state laws offering protection from discrimination against sexual minorities. Methods: From 1990 to 1999, 9,639 non-Hispanic White boys aged 11–18 years committed suicide in the United States. We compared rates before and after enactment of laws prohibiting discrimination on sexual orientation. Results: States that enacted antidiscrimination laws had a reduction of 29.1 suicides per million non-Hispanic White boys per year relative to states that have never enacted these laws. Relative to the same states before enactment of protective laws, the rate reduction was 19.7 suicides per million boy-years. Conclusions: Efforts to reduce heterosexual societal prejudice may affect a severe health outcome. Validation of the ecologic assumptions in this analysis is necessary. Complementary approaches are needed to enhance our understanding of this finding.
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