LGBTQ+ youth’s mental health struggles are getting worse, according to a new survey

There are so many stresses that come with being an LGBTQ+ teenager: fear, isolation, bullying, feeling like the world hates you, having loved ones pressure you to change.

These facts become clearer in the first release of findings from an ongoing study by the Trevor Project to track the mental health of nearly 1,700 youth across the United States over a long period of time.

Researchers from the West Hollywood-based nonprofit saw a sharp increase in mental distress among participants. Over the course of a year, the proportion of participants reporting anxiety symptoms increased from 57% to 68%.

Over the past few years, as political discourse has intensified over issues such as teaching LGBTQ+ identity in schools, transgender students playing on sports teams, and whether gender-affirming care should be allowed, the share of teens who say they experience symptoms of depression has increased from 48% to 54%. The percentage of those reporting suicidal thoughts increased from 41% to 47%.

Transgender and non-binary youth were nearly twice as likely to say they struggled with anxiety and suicidal thoughts compared to their cisgender peers; was a consistent pattern throughout the first year of data collection for this group of participants.

“This allows us to clearly and concisely document what we know to be true: The treatment of LGBTQ+ youth in this country harms their health and puts their lives at risk, and it is only getting worse,” Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black said in a statement.

Even in California, a state considered a haven for transgender people, the climate appears to be changing. In a surprising move for an elected official who has professed support for the transgender community, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a bill that would have mandated 12 months of hormone therapy coverage for transgender patients in California, citing cost concerns.

Another striking finding of the study: an increase in the proportion of young people who say they face pressure to undergo “conversion therapy,” a controversial and scientifically dubious counseling process that advocates argue can suppress or erase same-sex desire, change the gender identity of young people who identify as transgender, and discourage those who question it.

National Alliance on Mental Illness calls out conversion therapy “Disreputable, discriminatory and harmful” and supports banning a practice that he says could harm rather than improve the mental health of those exposed to it. California became first state to ban the practice In 2012.

But reports of being threatened with conversion therapy doubled in the first year of follow-up; 22% of participants said they had experienced this intimidation; this rate was higher than 11% at the beginning of the study. The percentage of people who said they had experienced some form of conversion therapy increased from 9% to 15%.

The findings emerged as the Supreme Court heard arguments in one of the most closely watched cases of its current term. Inside Chiles vs. SalazarA Christian counselor argued that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth violates free speech in voluntary therapy sessions that question minors. Members of the court’s conservative majority, who prevailed in a decision earlier this year Supporting Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for the little ones, openly expressed skepticism Hearings this week about the Colorado ban. The court’s decision is expected to be decided at the end of the session in June.

Trevor Project’s vice president of research, Dr. “Many believe this is a relic from the past, but data shows these dangerous practices still persist,” said Ronita Nath. He added that threats and exposure to conversion therapy contributed to future depression and suicidal thoughts among study participants.

Researchers began recruiting in September 2023. Each participant completed mental health surveys every six months after participating in the study.

This is the first time the Trevor Project has tracked changes in the mental health of gay youth over such a long period of time. This type of complex, long-term study is important for both public health providers and policymakers because it provides new evidence of a cause-and-effect link between future crises and societal risk factors, such as pressure to engage in conversion therapy and lack of access to affordable mental health services, Nath said.

“Social and structural conditions drive these mental health outcomes, they just don’t coincide with them,” Nath said.

The research found some positives: The percentage of LGBTQ+ youth who said they felt supported at school increased from 53% to 58% during the first year. Additionally, 73% of participants said they sought help from friends; this rate was 45% at the beginning of the first year.

But most survey participants said they avoided getting care either because they couldn’t afford it or because they feared they would be stigmatized for having a mental health crisis.

Only 60% of respondents said they had access to mental health services by the end of the first year in the study; this is lower than the 80% at the beginning of monitoring.

On the other hand, 75% of people in the study who received counseling during the first year said they had benefited from it, up from 61% at the beginning.

Nath said that the proportion of young people who said they sought help during suicide attacks doubled to 64 percent during this time period, indicating that the level of distress young people experienced during this period increased.