Health Hazards of Homosexuality

• Post by: Bryce J. Christensen
• April 12, 2010

When homosexuality was deleted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association was motivated not by the scientific evidence but by a therapeutic desire to weaken prevailing social attitudes that allegedly damage the self-esteem of homosexuals. Consequently, much of the discussion of homosexuality by public-health officials and professional associations ignores the large body of empirical literature that casts homosexual behavior in an unfavorable light. Yet the inaugural issue of the journal of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality offers a review of experimental evidence, clinical studies, and empirical research published in peer-reviewed journals over the course of 125 years that leads to a “singular” conclusion: “Homosexuality is not innate, immutable, or without significant risk to the medical, psychological, and relational health.” The review of 600 reports and studies contains three review essays, two of which refute claims of the American Psychological Association that sexual orientation is fixed and that attempts to change it can be harmful. The third review finds that the literature demonstrates, contrary to another claim of the APA, that “problematic behaviors and psychological dysfunctions are experienced among homosexuals at about three times the prevalence found in the general population—and sometimes much more.” Among the significantly increased risks for mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders: Despite knowing the AIDS risk, homosexuals repeatedly and pathologically continue to indulge in unsafe sex practices. Homosexuals represent the highest number of STD cases. Many homosexual sex practices are medically dangerous, with or without protection. More than one third of homosexual men and women are substance abusers. Forty percent of homosexual men adolescents report suicidal histories. Homosexuals are more likely tha