Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex

Researchers from a nationwide study showing “gay” men and “lesbians” experience high rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and verbal abuse have blamed the problem on a “hostile” society and called for law reform and public education to deal with the issue. The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society surveyed about 5,500 LGBT Australians aged between 16 and 92 – one of the largest studies of this kind.

Very interesting that the only cause of mental health problems of the study group that was identified and discussed is assumed to be an external factor. Unlike credible studies which assume the burden of truth, this one appears to be designed with a predetermined outcome already in mind? It would be nice to know some patient characteristics, such as a history of childhood abuse, a family history of depression, single parent household, etc…

In order to draw a conclusion from a study, shouldn’t there be some type of randomization or a control group of non-”homosexual” participants, who have had similar social histories and experiences? At best, this “study” should be considered an analysis, used to identify a problem or correlation between mental illness and those with same sex attraction, but in no way can it be considered useful in determining a definitive cause/effect relationship. If there is a sincere desire to help people with same sex attraction who have a mental illness, then crappy “studies” like these need to be designed with the search for truth as an end point, not to produce tools to be used to advance a social/political agenda. There are real people who are hurting, and I wish they would be treated as real people (not social/ political tools) by the people who claim to care for them.

To illustrate that this “study” raises more questions than it answers: “the situation (depression, suidiciality) improves as gay men and lesbian grow older, according to the study. Participants over 45 reported much lower rates of depression than their younger counterparts. They also felt more secure about their sexuality.” Based on this trend, should we assume that society has become more intolerant? How different is the acceptance of homosexual behavior today, compared to 20 – 30 years ago?

If a perceived presecution by society is the common stressor, what has caused this change in the older subjects? I wonder what “the numbers” are on minorities who have gone under more intense perseclution, including death? People are people, and there will always be some level bigotry and hatred in our world, so maybe to identify the source of the real problem could also be of benefit of offering a real solution, and that is focus on the individual with the mental/emotional disorder.

For the sake of arguement, we will assume that society has been constant (in reality, society has shown to be more accepting of the homosexual lifestyle), while the subjects behaviors (according to age) has changed, how can this be? I agree that society may have an impact on the individual level, but to say it is the SOURCE of the problem has no merit, what so ever.

Source