title: Suicidality and self-harm among sexual minorities in Japan.
abstract: In this study, I used ethnographic methods to examine suicidality and nonsuicidal self-harm among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons in Japan. Participants (N = 84) indicated that suicidality and self-harm are serious problems among sexual minorities and tend to be driven by (a) a homophobic/transphobic environment and the negative consequences of sexual minorities either disclosing their true selves or remaining hidden and silent within such an environment; (b) various antecedents to poor mental health; and (c) factors not directly related to being a sexual minority, particularly unemployment and debt in the context of a protracted national economic decline in Japan prior to the study period of 2003--2004. Participants also perceived a potentially higher risk for suicidality and self-harm among sexual minority adolescents and persons in their early 20s; those who work in the entertainment, bar, or sex industries; and survivors of violence perpetrated by intimate partners or family members.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Science, California State University, Fullerton, California, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: DiStefano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014189:Transsexualism / Q000523:psychology*