In society at large, LGBTQ individuals, especially youth, are at a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Though causes of mental health risk are complex, one often cited reason for these higher risks is minority stress stemming from societal anti-LGBTQ biases and stigma, rejection, and internalized homophobia. A 2016 empirical study by Benjamin Knoll found indirect data such as a U.S. state's suicide rates and the state's percentage of members of Mormonism's largest denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), supported anecdotal data that this was because to the church's stance on same-sex sexual relations. Due to the data's limitations the study could not examine what percentages of the deaths were LGBTQ persons or the percentage that were Latter-day Saints. A 2019 study found that gay and bisexual men raised in the LDS Church who remained affiliated had lower life satisfaction and higher risk of suicidality than LDS-raised gay and bisexual men who had disaffiliated. It also found for sexual minorities of all genders that discontinuing involvement with the LDS Church was correlated with better mental health and less internalized anti-gay biases. A 2002 research report found a negative correlation in suicide between general LDS Church youth members and nonmember youth in Utah, finding higher levels of religiosity appear to be inversely associated with suicide. The study did not take into account sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, and a different study found that while higher religiosity was correlated with lower rates of suicide attempts for heterosexual youth, it had the opposite affect for youth reporting homosexual feelings and increased suicidality, and the same pattern held true for reported parental religiosity. In a 2015 survey of 92 LGBTQ BYU students done by USGA, over half had at some point considered self-harm. Other studies have shown that LGBTQ Mormons and former Mormons experience higher rates of certain mental health disorders such as PTSD, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder than the general population. These are positively correlated with suicidality. One snowball sampling study of 1,612 LGBTQ Mormon and former Mormon respondents in 2015 found that involvement with the LDS Church and being single and celibate or engaging in a mixed-orientation marriage are both associated with higher rates of depression and a lower quality of life for LGBTQ individuals. Many have stated the belief that LDS teachings on homosexuality and gender, such as the belief that gender and sexuality cannot be changed, have contributed to the suicides of LGBTQ members, and enabled harsh behavior by its members. In January 2016 the LDS Church stated in regards to reported suicides of LGBTQ Mormons that leaders and members are taught to "reach out in an active, caring way to all, especially to youth who feel estranged or isolated." Affirmation, the largest and oldest continuously run LGBTQ Mormon organization, reported over 30 LGBTQ LDS deaths by suicide between 1971 and 2008 including five gay male Brigham Young University (BYU) students who died by suicide in 1965.
Research Suicidality among the general LGBTQ population in the United States (US) is an area of ongoing research. The US Department of Health and Human Services found in 1989 that nearly 1 of 3 adolescent suicides in the US were by lesbian and gay teens. Another 2001 study found that homosexual teens were 2.5 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers with suggestions that higher rates of depression, victimization by bullies, and alcohol use to numb anxiety from hiding ones stigmatized sexual orientation may be causative factors. Teen suicide rates in the US and Utah (a state with a large LDS population) have increased over the past decade. Among Utah youth aged 10–17 who died by suicide during 2011–2015 with circumstances data, 45% (48 of 146) were LDS affiliated. Of the 40 cases that included information on the decedent's sexual orientation, six (15.0%) were identified as sexual minorities. Various research surveys have found a range of correlations in the intersection of suicidality and involvement with the LDS Church. Studies have shown that LGBTQ Latter-day Saints and LGBTQ former Latter-day Saints experience higher rates of certain mental health disorders such as PTSD and major depressive disorder than the general population, and these are positively correlated with suicidality. One study of 1,612 LGBTQ Latter-day Saint and former Latter-day Saint respondents in 2015 found that involvement with the LDS Church and being single and celibate or engaging in a mixed-orientation marriage are both associated with higher rates of depression and a lower quality of life for LGBTQ individuals. Depression has been shown to have a strong positive correlation with suicidal intent. Clinically significant symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder related to their experiences within Mormonism have also been observed at high rates among affiliated and disaffiliated LGBTQ Latter-day Saints, and PTSD is associated with suicide attempts and ideation. A large representative sample of Utah middle and high school students shows higher rates of suicide for LGBTQ youth, which was higher for non-LDS LGBTQ youth when compared to LDS LGBTQ youth. An analysis by the church's largest university, Brigham Young University (BYU), of data from the 2019 Utah Department of Human Services survey of Utah students (6th to 12th grade) found that "religious affiliation was unrelated to suicidality and depression for LGBQ youths once other factors (e.g., family, drug use) were taken into account." For both non-LDS and LDS Utah youth, higher levels of family conflict and lower levels of parental closeness were related to increased reports of depression, substance use, self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempts. A key factor in determining mental health wellbeing is family acceptance and support, and feelings of isolation and rejection are correlated with suicidality. Studies show LDS transgender and other gender diverse (TGD) individuals tend to have much better outcomes when their family members are affirming.
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