LGB Attitudes to Mental Health Study – Preliminary Findings
On World Mental Health Day on 10 th October last year, the Mental Health & Well Being Project in Bradford launched a survey into the Attitudes of LGB people to their own and other LGB peoples' mental health issues.
Questionnaires were distributed to people on the scene and through various LGB groups. The deadline for return of the questionnaires was set for the 31 st December, 2008. By the deadline, we received 203 returned valid questionnaires .Obviously the data will need to undergo analysis but it is useful to look at some of the preliminary findings from the work.
Table 1: Breakdown by Age of Respondents
Age Range |
Numbers |
16-21 |
47 |
22-45 |
107 |
46-65 |
36 |
65+ |
13 |
TOTAL |
203 |
Table2: Breakdown by Gender/Sexual Orientation
MALE |
GAY |
BISEXUAL |
137 |
116 |
21 |
FEMALE |
LESBIAN |
BISEXUAL |
66 |
59 |
7 |
Table 3: Breakdown by Ethnicity
White British |
171 |
Black/Asian |
32 |
The following was the data collected for each agreeing or strongly agreeing with the following statements:
People who are mentally ill stand out in a crowd because of their behaviour |
29% |
LGB people are more vulnerable to having mental health problems |
24% |
I would not enter into a relationship with someone who had a history of mental health problems |
15% |
Building a hostel for mentally ill people in my street would lower the tone of the neighbourhood |
22% |
Most mentally ill people are prone to violent outbursts |
16% |
To enjoy good mental health it is important for LGB to be open about their sexual orientation |
56% |
LGB people are more likely to think about suicide than their heterosexual peers |
21% |
Social networking sites on the Internet have had a positive effect on LGB people’s mental health |
44% |
Mental illness makes someone unpredictable, unreliable and hard work to be with |
26% |
Alcohol & Street Drugs plays a big part in affecting the mental health of LGB people |
42% |
Older LGB people experience mental health difficulties due to the “youth-beauty” culture of the gay scene |
25% |
Having many sexual partners is not good for long-term mental health of LGB people |
31% |
I would be happy to tell my GP/Mental Health professional that I am LGB |
82% |
It is envisaged that a full Report will be written in the next few weeks and this will be displayed on the Yorkshire MESMAC website. If you have any queries on this project or research please feel free to contact James Moore on j.moore@mesmac.co.uk or on 07806 756757