A comparative study of suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury characteristics in heterosexual versus sexual minority females

•Women and sexual minorities are unduly impacted by self-harm and suicidality.•Compared sexual minority and heterosexual women on self-harm and suicide features.•Sexual minorities (versus heterosexuals) have stronger feelings of not belonging.•Sexual minority women engage in more frequent self-harm than heterosexual women.•These factors contribute to increased suicide attempts in sexual minority women. Sexual minorities are at heightened risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation and attempts. We tested whether sexual minority and heterosexual females differ on these characteristics. Sexual minority females (n = 45) had higher lifetime frequency of NSSI and higher thwarted belonginess compared to heterosexual females (n = 47). These specific factors may contribute to the higher rates of suicide attempts among sexual minorities than heterosexual individuals.