At the Intersection of LGBTQA+ Identity and Older Age: Insights on Mental Health and Suicidality in Australia

<p dir="ltr">Suicide is a global public health concern. Within Australia, suicide is also the leading cause of death among young adults (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2023), with extant research showing that rates of suicidality are disproportionately higher within communities that experience systemic marginalisation (AIHW, 2023). Those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, queer, asexual, and/or those with another diverse sexuality or gender (LGBTQA+) are particularly at risk for high suicidality. Compared with population-level estimates from general community members in Australia (e.g., 3.3% reporting recent suicidal ideation, and 0.3% reporting a recent suicide attempt; Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2022-2022), 41.9% of LGBTQA+ adults have reported recent suicidal ideation, and 5.2% have reported a recent suicide attempt (Hill et al., 2020). These disproportionately higher rates of suicidality among LGBTQA+ community members in Australia call for an urgent need to intervene against the factors that contribute to this risk.</p><p dir="ltr">A key element of consideration when implementing and advocating for suicide prevention interventions is the understanding that LGBTQA+ communities comprise of individuals that vary in their lived experiences. That is, while both gender and sexuality can vary and intersect across all members of LGBTQA+ communities, so too can other demographic factors (e.g., ethnicity, cultural background, age, socioeconomic status, geographical contexts and regions), yet these important intersecting factors have seldom been emphasised in both research and policy settings. As such, the current data report aims to address this gap by providing insights on mental health and suicidality across LGBTQA+ communities in Australia, with a particular focus on exploring the intersection of <b>older age </b>within this population.</p>