ISSUES: For LGBT teens, acceptance is critical!

Zac Brokenrope got called into the school office almost every day as a freshman in high school. His offense, he was told, was "acting gay."

"I would literally lay awake at night in bed, just (dreading) to go the next morning, wondering what I was going to get in trouble for that day, wondering if someone was going to say something on my behalf," said Brokenrope, now a junior at Boston University.

He says his parents felt embarrassed by him, and wouldn't permit him to start a gay-straight alliance group at the school. Brokenrope felt so alone, he contemplated suicide. CNN reports.

Brokenrope's experiences growing up in Nebraska resonate with two studies published Monday that present unprecedented insight into the challenges that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth face.

Family acceptance of LGBT youth predicts positive outcomes in mental health, self esteem, and overall health status, finds a study in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing. And nonheterosexual young people are more likely to receive punishments in a school or criminal justice setting, says a study in Pediatrics.

Based on interviews with self-identified LGBT young adults, researchers found that family acceptance seems to protect against suicidal thoughts and behaviors, as well as depression and substance abuse. The study comes from the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University, which aims to increase support among families with LGBT children.