This is the first wide-ranging report from a cross-sectional national survey of LGBTQ youth across the United States. With over 34,000 respondents, it is the largest survey of LGBTQ youth mental health ever conducted and provides a critical understanding of the experiences impacting their lives.This ground-breaking survey provides new insights into the challenges that LGBTQ youth across the country face every day, including suicide, feeling sad or hopeless, discrimination, physical threats and exposure to conversion therapy.
The data provides a sobering look at how far society still has to go to protect LGBTQ young lives. But the survey also reveals the resilience and diversity of LGBTQ youth and provides guidance on what can be done to enable them to survive and thrive. Among some of the key findings of the report from LGBTQ youth in the survey:
- 39% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past twelve months, with more than half of transgender and non-binary youth having seriously considered.
- 71% of LGBTQ youth reported feeling sad or hopeless for at least two weeks in the past year.
- Less than half of LGBTQ respondents were out to an adult at school, with youth much less likely to disclose their gender identity than sexual orientation.
- 2 in 3 LGBTQ youth reported that someone tried to convince them to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, with youth who have undergone conversion therapy more than twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who did not.
- 71% of LGBTQ youth in our study reported discrimination due to either their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- 58% of transgender and non-binary youth reported being discouraged from using a bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity.
The Trevor Project’s National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health is part of the commitment to use research and data to continually improve life-saving services for LGBTQ youth and expand the knowledge base for organizations around the globe. This survey builds upon critical research done by many partner organizations over the years and are particularly proud that it is inclusive of youth of more than 100 sexual orientations and more than 100 gender identities from all 50 states across the country.
Population of focus: LGBTQ
Links to resource:
- Learn more about the Trevor Project.
- Access the entire National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health.
- Learn more on LGBTQ health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Date: 2020