Bullying of gays and lesbians at school resulted in a high proportion of these students attempting suicide or self-harm, a Psychological Society of Ireland conference heard yesterday.
Of the 190 British adults surveyed by University of Luton psychologist Mr Ian Rivers, 40 per cent had attempted suicide or self-harm on one occasion, with 30 per cent making multiple attempts.
Mr Rivers said a Canadian study found that gays and lesbians accounted for 62.5 per cent of all suicide attempts. "This suggests that being lesbian or gay puts you in a high-risk category," he said.
His study found that name-calling was the most common form of bullying at school. As adults, those who had been bullied exhibited symptoms associated with depressive tendencies when compared with lesbians and gays who had not been bullied. Also speaking at the symposium "Homophobia: a Problem for the Discipline and Practice of Psychology", Dr Geraldine Moane of UCD said the available research clearly indicates prejudice and discrimination in Irish society. A 1995 Combat Poverty study "Poverty: Lesbians and Gay Men" found that 57 per cent of participants experienced teasing at school. Just over half did not attend discos or sport while at school and 25 per cent had experienced physical assault.
Dr Teresa Burke, a lecturer at UCD, said the issue of sexuality and sexual orientation were often not covered adequately in undergraduate education.