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Outlook Express Pop3 Server Not Responding

Outlook Express Pop3 Server Not Responding

The way parents first respond to their gay or lesbian teenager can help reduce suicide, depression and even drug and alcohol use. Of paramount importance is the expression of acceptance on the part of the parents to the coming out of their teenager.

Parent Reaction to Their Gay Teen

The reactions to this statement run the gambit from fear, grief, anger and disbelief. Joseph Shapiro reporting on National Public Radio on the "Study: Tolerance Can Lower Gay Kids' Suicide Risk, 2008", says that the key reaction that needs to be conveyed to the teenager is acceptance.

Acceptance can be a hard thing to offer for parents, though. Parents most likely have imagined their teenager's wedding, future grandchildren and other hopes for the teenager. The news that their son or daughter is gay or lesbian can be devastating. Many parents experience depression and anger at the news. It is important these are expressed very delicately to the gay adolescent.

Heide Kulkin, et al. in "Suicide Among Gay and Lesbian Adolescents and Young Adults" in the 2000 Journal of Homosexuality again emphasize that acceptance must be expressed by the parents to decrease suicide risk.

Problems of Gay and Lesbian Teens

Shapiro continues to caution that gay and lesbian teens who suffer from a lack of family support are 8.5 times more likely to attempt suicide, six times more likely to suffer from depression and 3 times more likely to use drugs and alcohol compared to teens who receive support from their family members.

Miichael Radkowski writes in "The gay adolescent: Stressors, adaptations, and psychosocial interventions" (Clinical Psychology Review, 1997) that a number of risks face gay teens. These include not only depression and anxiety but also isolation, peer rejection, and threats from bullying.