"LGBT+ pupils twice as likely to contemplate suicide"

Just Like Us - May 17th 2021

"LGBT+ young people are three times more likely to self-harm and twice as likely to contemplate suicide than their non-LGBT+ peers, new independent research by Just Like Us has found.

Seven in 10 (68%) LGBT+ young people have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, compared to 29% of young people who are not LGBT+. Lesbian (74%) and transgender (77%) young people are the most likely to have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, followed by bisexual young people (73%) and gay boys (66%). 

Black LGBT+ young people are three times more likely than non-LGBT+ young people to contemplate suicide – 89% of Black LGBT+ young people have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, compared to 67% of white LGBT+ young people.

A third (31%) of LGBT+ young people have self-harmed, compared to just 9% of non-LGBT+ young people.

LGBT+ young people are also three times less likely to report feeling good about themselves – just 13% of LGBT+ young people say they’ve felt good about themselves on a daily basis, compared to 30% of non-LGBT+ peers.

One in 10 (9%) of LGBT+ young people say they have ‘never’ felt good about themselves in the past 12 months, compared to just 5% of non-LGBT+ peers.

LGBT+ young people are twice as likely to say they ‘never’ feel useful – one in 10 (10%) say they’ve ‘never’ felt useful in the past 12 months, compared to just 5% of non-LGBT+ young people. 

LGBT+ young people are also three times less likely to feel useful – only 12% of LGBT+ young people have felt useful on a daily basis in the past 12 months, compared to 30% of non-LGBT+ peers.

The independent study of 2,934 pupils aged 11-18 (1,140 of whom were LGBT+) across the UK by Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, has found that LGBT+ young people are significantly more likely to struggle with mental health and are not getting enough positive messaging from school.

Only 58% of LGBT+ young people have felt safe at school on a daily basis in the past 12 months, compared to 73% of non-LGBT+ pupils.

Half (48%) of all secondary school pupils say they have received little to no positive messaging at school about being LGBT+. According to Just Like Us’ research, 18% say they have had zero positive messaging and 30% say they have only had positive messaging one or twice in the last 12 months."

Link to further information

"Families, technology use, and daily life: parents’ role in building resilience and mitigating harm"

Olaf Kapella - May 19th 2021

Excerpt -

"Parents can become overwhelmed by the rapid changes in information and communication technologies (ICT) and contradictory advice on how best to support their children’s safe and beneficial internet use. Why is that? When many of today’s parents were children themselves, most of today’s technologies did not even exist. So, parents may lack key references and best-practice examples from their own childhood that show what good digital mediation, guidance and support for children could look like. 

For www.parenting.digital, Olaf Kapella discusses how research evidence can close this information gap and support parents and carers in their decisions. Drawing on two recent reviews conducted as part of the EU Project DigiGen, he offers insights for parents on how to maximise the positive aspects of internet use by focusing on online activities (rather than screen time), co-using technologies with their children, respecting children’s privacy, promoting resilience and acting as role models."

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Guidance Gov.UK - Parents with alcohol and drug problems: support resources

"A toolkit containing guidance, data and other resources to support professionals who are helping families affected by parental alcohol and drug problems."

last accessed 17-05-21

Link to documents

What was lockdown like for dads – and how can we keep the ‘best bits’?

"Our new study, Lockdown Fathers: the untold story, shows that during the first Covid-19 lockdown (in spring 2020), Britain’s fathers spent more time than ever with their children – looking after them, doing more housework and supporting their learning and development through play, home schooling and other activities."

"Our study found that overall, dads grew in confidence, learned new skills and built stronger relationships with their children. They want to stay more involved in future – and their contribution to their children’s learning and development could be massive."

"But long working hours and commutes, and lack of direct contact with schools, get in the way. The fathers we surveyed want that to change: 76% of those full-time at home during lockdown said they’d like more flexible working, and 63% more home-working in future, for example."

"That’s why we’re launching a new campaign, called Time with Dad."

"Time with Dad aims to create a space where employers, education providers, and parents themselves can work together to give fathers the time and support they need to keep supporting their children’s education."

"We want to explore new ideas, share our stories, form collaborations and trial new approaches."

Link to full report etc

"There Is No Evidence That Associations Between Adolescents’ Digital Technology Engagement and Mental Health Problems Have Increased"

Abstract

"Digital technology is ubiquitous in modern adolescence, and researchers are concerned that it has negative impacts on mental health that, furthermore, increase over time. To investigate whether technology is becoming more harmful, we examined changes in associations between technology engagement and mental health in three nationally representative samples. Results were mixed across types of technology and mental health outcomes: Technology engagement had become less strongly associated with depression in the past decade, but social-media use had become more strongly associated with emotional problems. We detected no changes in five other associations or differential associations by sex. There is therefore little evidence for increases in the associations between adolescents’ technology engagement and mental health. Information about new digital media has been collected for a relatively short time; drawing firm conclusions about changes in their associations with mental health may be premature. We urge transparent and credible collaborations between scientists and technology companies."

Last accessed 10-05-21

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