Depression and Suicide Literacy among Canadian Sexual and Gender Minorities

Figures & data

TABLE 1. Demographic characteristics of participants of a Canadian survey about sexual and gender minorities mental health (N = 2,778).

Demographic variables	n (%)
Gender
Cisgender men	623 (22.4)
Cisgender women	1,157 (41.6)
Transgender men	209 (7.5)
Transgender women	82 (3.0)
Nonbinary	561 (20.2)
Other	146 (5.3)
Sexual orientation
Gay/Lesbian	1,032 (37.1)
Bisexual	615 (22.1)
Queer	486 (17.5)
Asexual	133 (4.6)
Pansexual	369 (13.3)
Other (including straight)	143 (5.1)
Age
Under 20	636 (22.9)
20–29	1245 (44.9)
30–39	449 (16.2)
40–49	176 (6.3)
50+	267 (9.6)
Education
Some high school
Completed high school	473 (17.0)
Some college or university	1,383 (49.8)
University degree	907 (32.6)
Other/prefer not to say	15 (0.5)
Individual Income
Under 20,000	1,500 (54.0)
20,000–49,999	714 (25.7)
50,000 or more	382 (13.8)
Prefer not to say	182 (6.6)
Ethnicity
White	2,147 (77.3)
Indigenous	283 (10.2)
Asian	157 (5.7)
Black	46 (1.7)
Middle-Eastern	37 (1.3)
Latino	58 (2.1)
Other	42 (1.5)
Prefer not to say	16 (0.6)

TABLE 2. Canadian sexual and gender minorities responses to the Depression Literacy Scale (D-lit).

Statement	Selected	Selected	Selected
	True	False	Don’t know
Loss of confidence and poor self-esteem may be a symptom of depression.	98.8	0.4	0.7
Eating too much or losing interest in food may be a sign of depression.	98.5	0.5	1.0
Sleeping too much or too little may be a sign of depression.	98.2	0.9	0.9
People with depression may feel guilty when they are not at fault.	95.9	1.4	2.7
Many famous people have suffered from depression.	94.8	0.7	4.5
Depression does not affect your memory and concentration.	2.8	92.8	4.4
Most people with depression need to be hospitalized.	2.1	90.9	7.1
Antidepressant medications usually work straight away.	1.2	90.8	8.0
People with depression should stop taking antidepressants as soon as they feel better.	1.6	90.1	8.2
People may move more slowly or become agitated as a result of their depression.	86.0	4.2	9.8
People with depression often hear voices that are not there.	5.2	82.8	12.1
Having several distinct personalities may be a sign of depression.	6.3	78.1	15.6
Not stepping on cracks in the footpath may be a sign of depression.	4.5	74.7	20.7
Moderate depression disrupts a person’s life as much as multiple sclerosis or deafness.	70.9	10.4	18.7
Of all the alternative and lifestyle treatments for depression, vitamins are likely to be the most helpful.	5.8	63.2	31.0
Cognitive behavioral therapy is as effective as antidepressants for mild to moderate depression.	53.9	4.9	41.2
People with depression often speak in a rambling and disjointed way.	24.6	52.6	22.9
Antidepressants are addictive.	21.5	51.9	26.6
Clinical psychologists can prescribe antidepressants.	35.3	38.4	26.3
Reckless and foolhardy behavior is a common sign of depression.	45.6	33.2	21.2
Many treatments for depression are more effective than antidepressants.	36.2	17.2	46.6
Counselling is as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy for depression.	40.6	14.5	45.0
TOTAL OF CORRECT ANSWER	71.27
TOTAL OF INCORRECT ANSWER	11.67
TOTAL OF “DON’T KNOW” ANSWER	17.05

Note. Black answers are correct answers.

TABLE 3. Canadian sexual and gender minorities responses to the Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS).

Statement	Selected	Selected	Selected
	True	False	Don’t know
People who have thoughts about suicide should not tell others about it.	1.2	96.9	1.9
Most people who suicide are psychotic.	0.6	92.7	6.7
Men are more likely to suicide than women.	90.1	3.0	6.9
Very few people have thoughts about suicide.	1.5	88.0	10.4
Seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist can help prevent someone from suicide.	86.8	6.7	6.5
A suicidal person will always be suicidal and entertain thoughts of suicide.	4.4	80.9	14.7
Not all people who attempt suicide plan their attempt in advance.	80.6	9.9	9.5
If assessed by a psychiatrist, everyone who suicides would be diagnosed as depressed.	6.0	77.1	16.8
Talking about suicide always increases the risk of suicide.	7.4	75.9	16.7
People who talk about suicide rarely kill themselves.	14.3	55.9	29.8
People who want to attempt suicide can change their mind quickly.	49.6	22.0	28.3
There is a strong relationship between alcoholism and suicide.	43.8	20.2	36.0
*LGBTQ people are more likely to attempt suicide than non-LGBTQ people (i.e. heterosexual and cisgender people).	90.1	3.0	6.9
TOTAL OF CORRECT ANSWER	76.5
TOTAL OF INCORRECT ANSWER	8.1
TOTAL OF “DON’T KNOW” ANSWER	14.7

*This item is not part of the validated scale and was not included in the calculation of the total score.

Note. Black answers are correct answers.

TABLE 4. Linear regression associations between Depression Literacy Scale (D-lit) score and demographic variables, as measured in a Canadian survey of sexual and gender minorities.

Variables	B	SE B	β	t	p
Gender
Cisgender men	Referent
Cisgender women	0.66	0.17	.11	4.00	<.001
Transgender men	0.52	0.26	.05	2.05	.040
Transgender women	−0.60	0.35	−.03	−1.72	.085
Nonbinary	0.84	0.20	.11	4.13	<.001
Sexual orientation
Gay/Lesbian	Referent
Bisexual	−0.15	0.16	−.02	−0.92	.357
Queer	0.30	0.18	.04	1.65	.100
Asexual	−0.05	0.28	−.00	−0.16	.872
Pansexual	0.18	0.19	.02	0.92	.356
Age
Under 20	Referent
20–29	0.27	0.15	.05	1.79	.074
30–39	0.77	0.20	.10	3.85	<.001
40–49	0.73	0.27	.06	3.72	.007
50+	0.17	0.24	.02	0.71	.477
Education
University degree	Referent
Some college or university	−0.62	0.14	−.10	−4.56	<.001
High school completed	−1.71	0.20	−.19	−8.60	<.001
Some high school	−1.59	0.28	−.12	−5.65	<.001
Income
50,000 or more	Referent
20,000–49,999	−0.01	0.17	−.00	−0.07	.947
Under 20,000	0.30	0.16	.05	1.86	.063
Ethnicity
White	Referent
Indigenous	−0.45	0.18	−.03	−2.47	.014
Ethnic minority	−0.45	0.19	−.04	−2.37	.018

TABLE 5. Linear regression associations between Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS) score and demographic variables, as measured in a Canadian survey of sexual and gender minorities.

Variables	B	SE B	β	t	p
Gender
Cisgender men	Referent
Cisgender women	0.13	0.11	.03	1.19	.235
Transgender men	0.09	0.16	.01	0.53	.598
Transgender women	−0.33	0.22	−.03	−1.48	.140
Nonbinary	0.09	0.13	.02	0.67	.503
Sexual orientation
Gay/Lesbian	Referent
Bisexual	0.03	0.10	.01	0.26	.798
Queer	0.09	0.12	.02	0.80	.426
Asexual	−0.18	0.18	−.02	−1.02	.309
Pansexual	−0.09	0.12	−.02	−0.69	.488
Age
Under 20	Referent
20–29	−0.10	0.10	−.03	−1.03	.306
30–39	−0.11	0.13	−.02	−0.88	.377
40–49	−0.59	0.17	−.08	−3.43	.001
50 +	−0.90	0.16	−.14	−5.82	<.001
Education
University degree	Referent
Some college or university	−0.29	0.09	−.08	−3.40	.001
Completed high school	−0.72	0.13	−.13	−5.69	<.001
Some high school	−.66	.179	−.08	−3.69	<.001
Income
50,000 or more	Referent
20,000–49,999	−0.06	0.11	−.01	−0.60	.553
Under 20,000	0.04	0.10	.01	0.39	.698
Ethnicity
White	Referent
Indigenous	−0.01	0.12	−.00	−0.05	.959
Ethnic minority	−0.66	0.12	−.10	−5.43	<.001