Today the journal Frontiers in Psychology published the latest study from Father Paul Sullins, Ph.D., which compares LGB persons who have undergone “conversion therapy” (aka sexual orientation change efforts, or SOCE) with those who haven’t, and finds no difference between the two groups for multiple measures of behavioral harm, including suicidal morbidity, psychological distress, self-harm (cutting), and substance abuse. In other words, sexual orientation change efforts aren’t harmful.
The study, titled “Absence of Behavioral Harm Following Non-efficacious Sexual Orientation Change Efforts: A Retrospective Study of United States Sexual Minority Adults, 2016–2018″ is available to read or download at no charge at Frontiers in Psychology.
Frontiers in Psychology, based in Switzerland, “is the largest journal in its field, publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research across the psychological sciences, …” Articles are automatically indexed in NIH’s PubMed and most other national public health repositories. The data examined on sexual minority adults were collected by the Gallup Organization for the Williams Institute, a pro-gay research and advocacy institute at UCLA Law School, Los Angeles, California.
The conclusion contradicts a large number of studies that report substantial harm following SOCE, particularly increased suicidal behavior. Only four such studies used a representative (random) sample, however, and all four failed to distinguish suicidal behavior before SOCE from that following it. The research from Fr. Sullinsfound that suicidal behavior is much higher before SOCE (perhaps prompting the recourse to therapy) but not afterward. In fact, suicide attempts are significantly reduced following SOCE – the opposite of what is widely claimed.
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