Lin, I., et al. "Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Referendums on the Suicidal Ideation Rate among Nonheterosexual People in Taiwan." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16.18 (2019): 3456.
Abstract
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Taiwan held voter-initiated referendums to determine same-sex marriage legalization on 24 November 2018. This study aims to compare suicidal ideation rates in heterosexual and nonheterosexual participants of a first-wave survey (Wave 1, 23 months before the same-sex marriage referendums) and a second-wave survey (Wave 2, one week after the same-sex marriage referendums) in Taiwan and to examine the influence of gender, age, and sexual orientation on the change in suicidal ideation rates in nonheterosexual participants. In total, 3286 participants in Wave 1 and 1370 participants in Wave 2 were recruited through a Facebook advertisement. Each participant completed an online questionnaire assessing suicidal ideation. The proportions of heterosexual and nonheterosexual participants with suicidal ideation were compared between the Wave 1 and Wave 2 surveys. Suicidal ideation rates between participants in the Wave 1 and Wave 2 surveys were further compared by stratifying nonheterosexual participants according to gender, age, and sexual orientation. Nonheterosexual participants in the Wave 2 survey had a higher suicidal ideation rate than those in the Wave 1 survey, whereas no difference was observed in suicidal ideation rates between heterosexual participants in Wave 2 and Wave 1. Nonheterosexual participants who were female, younger, gay, lesbian, and bisexual in Wave 2 had a higher suicidal ideation rate than those in Wave 1. The suicidal ideation rate significantly increased in nonheterosexual participants experiencing the same-sex marriage referendums in Taiwan. Whether civil rights of sexual minority individuals can be determined through referendums should be evaluated.
Conclusions
The suicidal ideation rate significantly increased in nonheterosexual individuals affected by the same-sex marriage referendums in Taiwan. Nonheterosexual participants who were female, younger, gay, lesbian, and bisexual were particularly vulnerable to the effects of the same-sex marriage referendums and had an increased suicidal ideation rate. The result indicated that the same-sex marriage ban referendums had a negative effect on the mental health of sexual minority individuals in Taiwan. The results also indicated the importance of considering gender, age, and sexual orientation differences in psychological reactions to major events related to sexual minorities. In addition to the inspection of whether civil rights of sexual minority individuals can be determined through referendums, factors that can protect sexual minority individuals from the hurt of structural stigma such as same-sex marriage bans warrant study. For example, research found that perceiving a greater immediate social network can buffer the effect of exposure to negative media messages about same-sex marriage on psychological distress [28]. Perceived poor social support also mediates a large portion of the effects of structural stigma on LGB outcomes [33].