OVER THE past 25 years, researchers have reported consistently high rates of suicidality among homosexual persons, particularly among adolescents and young adults.¹ Based on the data available at the time, the 1989 Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide concluded that "gay youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people. They may comprise up to 30% of completed youth suicides annually.''²

The report ignited a controversy that has persisted to the present day. In response to public and congressional inquiries, the American Association of Suicidology, Washington, DC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga, and the National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, Md, convened a workshop in 1994 regarding rates of suicide among gay men and lesbians.³ Some of the meeting attendees concluded that "there is no population-based evidence that sexual orientation and suicidality are linked in some direct or indirect manner.''⁴ However, in light of the research published soon thereafter, that judgment might have been premature and overstated.