Call for papers - Minority stress and suicidal behavior among sexual and gender minority populations

Guest Editors

Eric W. Schrimshaw, PhD, University of Central Florida, United States
Lindsay A. Taliaferro, PhD, University of Central Florida, United States

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 30 July 2025

BMC Public Health invites submissions for a Collection exploring the nexus of stress and suicidal behavior among sexual minority populations.

Two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual plus (2SLGBTQIA+) populations face unique stressors related to their experiences of victimization and discrimination that negatively impact their health and well-being. Compared with heterosexual and/or cisgender people, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals evidence persistent disparities in health outcomes, including suicidal ideation and behavior.

Positive 2SLGBTQIA+ structural climates, system-level supports, affiliation with 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and support systems, support networks, and a strong positive 2SLGBTQIA+ identity can mitigate the deleterious outcomes associated with minority stressors, preventing their negative impact on health and well-being.

New Content Item This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being and SDG 10: SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Submit to Collection

Meet the Guest Editors

Back to top

Eric W. Schrimshaw, PhD, University of Central Florida, United States

Dr Eric W. Schrimshaw is Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. With a PhD in social/personality psychology, Dr Schrimshaw’s research is focused on LGBT health disparities in the areas of HIV prevention, mental health, and substance use. His research makes extensive use of longitudinal designs and a mixed-methods approach that feature both online surveys as well as in-depth qualitative interviews. Dr Schrimshaw currently serves on the editorial boards of Archives of Sexual Behavior, Journal of Sex Research, and Annals of LGBT Public and Population Health.

Lindsay A. Taliaferro, PhD, University of Central Florida, United States

Dr Lindsay Taliaferro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences, College of Medicine at the University of Central Florida. Dr Taliaferro is a public health researcher and behavioral scientist with over 15 years of experience conducting youth suicide prevention research. Her research focuses on preventing suicide and improving receipt of high-quality healthcare for 2SLGBTQ+ adolescents and emerging adults. Dr Taliaferro conducts strengths-based, intersectional mixed-methods research with diverse 2SLGBTQ+ young people, examining effects of modifiable protective factors across individual, interpersonal, community, system, and structural levels on mental health outcomes and healthcare utilization. Her research has been funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institute of Mental Health, and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

About the Collection

BMC Public Health seeks submissions for our new Collection, "Minority stress and suicidal behavior among sexual and gender minority populations."

Two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual plus (2SLGBTQIA+) populations face unique stressors related to their experiences of victimization and discrimination that negatively impact their health and well-being. Compared with heterosexual and/or cisgender people, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals evidence persistent disparities in health outcomes, including suicidal ideation and behavior.

Positive 2SLGBTQIA+ structural climates, system-level supports, affiliation with 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and support systems, support networks, and a strong positive 2SLGBTQIA+ identity can mitigate the deleterious outcomes associated with minority stressors, preventing their negative impact on health and well-being. Strengths-based prevention and intervention efforts that enhance protective factors across socioecological levels (individual, interpersonal, community, systems, societal/structural) may reduce exposure to minority stressors and prevent suicide among 2SLGBTQIA+ populations.

We welcome contributions from researchers across disciplines to advance our understanding of this critical public health issue.

Topics of interest for this Collection include, but are not limited to:

•   Minority stressors and suicide risk
•   Intersectionality and suicidal ideation and behavior
•   Protective factors for 2SLGBTQIA+ populations
•   2SLGBTQIA+ disparities in suicidal behavior (suicide ideation, planning, and attempts)
•   Embedding health equity into prevention strategies to improve suicide outcomes
•   Familial support and suicide prevention
•   Minority stress prevention and mitigating factors on suicidal ideation and behavior
•   Strengths-based suicide prevention interventions for 2SLGBTQIA+ populations

This collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

Back to top

This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Minority stress and suicidal behavior among sexual and gender minority populations" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.