LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health is Suffering, Yet Access to Care is Lacking

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This week, the Trevor Project released its 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, the wide-reaching findings of which showed that queer and trans youth continue to report high rates of mental health challenges and suicide risk, as well as discrimination, and threats of physical violence. Notably, the survey’s insights also indicate low access to mental health care, highlighting an inherent gap between issues LGBTQ+ youth face and potential solutions.

“This year’s survey shows that considering or attempting suicide is not uncommon among LGBTQ+ young people," said Dr. Ronita Nath, Vice President of Research at The Trevor Project said in a statement. “However, many of the contributing risk factors for suicide are preventable, and often rooted in victimizing behaviors of others.”

Data from the report showed that 39% of LGBTQ+ young people “seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year,” including nearly half of of transgender and nonbinary young people. According to the report, LGBTQ+ youth of color reported higher rates of attempted suicide than their white peers — disturbingly, Native and Indigenous youth were nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide in the past year as counterparts from every other racial group.

The political climate of the world at large is a key factor in the wider picture of LGBTQ+ mental health, according to this report, with a staggering 90% of LGBTQ+ young people respondents saying their well-being was “negatively impacted due to recent politics.”

“With such striking numbers and families literally wanting to uproot their homes to seek safety, lawmakers must seriously reconsider the real and damaging impact that their anti-LGBTQ+ policies and rhetoric create. No ‘political victory’ should be worth risking the lives of young people,” Janson Wu, Senior Director of State Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project said in a statement. “Much of our efforts to address the public health crisis of suicide among LGBTQ+ young people are made that much harder by the ongoing wave of anti-LGBTQ+ policies pushed by extremist lawmakers across the country.”

Data also indicates that environmental influences and access to identity-affirming and care-driven spaces impact mental health. For example, nearly half (49%) of respondents ages 13-17 said they experienced bullying in the past year, and those who did also said had higher rates of attempting suicide, according to the survey. On the other hand, respondents who reported living in very accepting communities attempted suicide at less than half the rate of those who reported living in unaccepting communities. Suicide attempt rates also decreased for respondents who said they had access to LGBTQ+-affirming spaces, and for transgender and nonbinary youth who had access to gender-affirming spaces.

Still, the gaps in access to mental health care are evident. While 84% of all LGBTQ+ youth who were surveyed wanted mental health care, only half (50%) were able to get it, according to survey results, meaning one in two people who expressed desire for care were not able to access it. The most common reasons per the report being “afraid to talk about mental health concerns with someone else” and lack of financial resources.

“The results of this survey clearly identify a need for adults and allies to create more affirming environments for LGBTQ+ young people, and better support them in being their true selves,” Nath said.

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue