This page is dedicated to providing meaningful statistics about the mental health challenges and unique stressors that LGBTQIA+ youths face. Since this website was created as part of an Honors Thesis Project, this page also serves the purpose of explaining the why behind why we decided to create this website.
This page will include triggering topics such as detailed mentions of suicide, physical harm, bullying, parental abandonment, sexual assault, and discussions of not accepting LGBTQIA+ individuals. Please read with care to your own well being.
This page is compiled with research done by third parties that will be cited in the text and also at the end of the page.
Suicide and LGBTQIA+ Youth
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-24. LGBTQIA+ teens are at a much greater risk of suicide (Hedegaard, Curtin, & Warner, 2018).
LGBTQIA+ youths were 4x more likely to contemplate suicide compared with their heterosexual/cisgender peers in both 2019 and 2020 (Johns et al, 2019, 2020).
An estimated 1.8 million young adults (ages 13-24) in America contemplate suicide every year. That’s 1 suicide contemplation every 45 seconds (Trevor Project, 2022).
45% of LGBTQIA+ youths surveyed seriously considered suicide in the year of 2022. That is up from 42% in the previous year of 2021 (Trevor Project, 2021-2022).
14% of LGBTQIA+ youths attempted suicide in the past year (2021) according to the Trevor Project’s Youth Mental Health Survey
There have been numerous studies on why LGBTQIA+ youth’s are more likely to have suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness. According to Amy Green and an article of research compiled in 2021, LGBTQIA+ individuals are more likely to commit suicide because of minority stress, or the conflict that arises between the dominant and minority views of society. In other words, since queer teens are in the minority, their social environment, which conflicts with the majority, causes them to experience unique stressors, such as discrimination, stigma, physical harm, or homophobia/transphobia.
If you’re one of those kids [queer kids], I wanted this book to exist for you. I think if it had existed for me back then, a lot of things in my life would have been different. I wanted to write a book to show you that you’re not alone.
Casey McQuiston, Acknowledgments in I Kissed Shara Wheeler, 2022
According to a 2017 study conducted by the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) and the University of Connecticut, where they surveyed 12,000 LGBTQIA+ youths (ages 12-17) in all 50 states:
77% of LGBTQIA+ Youths report feeling depressed on down in the past week
85% of LGBTQIA+ Youths reported that they experienced higher stress than the average youth.
DISCRIMINATION
*Data taken from the Trevor Project’s 2022 Youth Mental Health Survey
73% of LGBTQIA+ youths experience some discrimination at some point in their lives.
65% of LGBTQIA+ youths report discrimination based on their sexual orientation alone
71% of trans or non-binary individuals report discrimination based on their gender identities.
19% of LGBTQIA+ youths who have experienced discrimination have also contemplated suicide. 7% of youths who reported no discrimination contemplated suicide.
BULLYING/PHYSICAL HARM
*Data taken from the Trevor Project’s 2022 Youth Mental Health Survey
36% of LGBTQIA+ youths have reported being physically threatened or harmed at some point in their lives
31% of LGBTQIA+ youths have been physically threatened or harmed due to their sexual orientation
37% of trans/ non-binary youth have been physically threatened or harmed due to their gender identity.
29% of LGBTQIA+ youths who have been threatened or experienced physical harm have also contemplated suicide. 10% of youths who reported no history of physical harm contemplated suicide.
STATISTICS FOR BISEXUAL YOUTH
*Data taken from analysis of the CDC Youth Health Survey (2015-2017). Analysis provided by the Trevor Project
7% of youths say they identify as bisexual, or having attraction for multiple genders
Despite having a bigger community compared to gay and lesbian youth, bisexuals often experience special discrimination and a two-sided alienation from both heterosexuals, who believe they are not straight enough, and gay/lesbian individuals, who believe they are not gay enough.
Because of this, the CDC reports that bisexuals are more likely to report feelings of depressed mood, bullying, sexual assault, and physical harm (CDC, 2015-2017).
48% of bisexuals have contemplated suicide in the past year, 40% made a plan for suicide, and 27% actually attempted suicide.
66% of bisexuals report feeling sad or depressed in the past 12 months, compared with the 27% of heterosexuals and 49% of gay/lesbian individuals.
36% of bisexuals surveyed reported that they experienced bullying at school. 30% of bisexuals reported bullying that occurred electronically/online.
About 21% of bisexuals (with 24% of females and 8% of males) reported being forced to have sexual intercourse, compared to 5% heterosexual youths and 16% gay and lesbian youths.
As the chart provided illustrates, bisexuals are at a greater risk than their LGBTQIA+ peers in all of the categories analyzed, such as feeling sad/hopeless, considering suicide, attempting suicide, forced sexual intercourse, and bullying.
These statistics remain constant across various ethnicities and gender identities.
STATISTICS FOR TRANSGENDER/NONBINARY YOUTHS
*Data taken from The Trevor Project’s 2022 Youth Mental Health Survey
50% of all transgender/nonbinary youths seriously contemplated committing suicide in the past year
Transgender and non-binary youths face are 2-2.5 times more likely to have depression and suicidal thoughts + attempts compared to cisgender individuals (Feeney, et al, 2020)
For Black transgender /non-binary individuals, 59% have considered suicide. 26% of these individuals actually attempted suicide (Feeney, et al, 2020)
STATISTICS FOR LGBTQ YOUTHS OF COLOR
LGBTQIA+ Youths of Color report have reported higher rates of contemplating and attempting suicide (Trevor Project, 2022).
Attempted suicide rates of LGBTQIA+ teens broken down by racial identity:
White: 12%, Native/Indigenous*: 21%, Middle Eastern/Northern African: 20%, Black: 19%, Multiracial: 17%, Latinx: 16%, Asian/Pacific Islander: 12%
*Native-American/Indigenous individuals have the highest attempted suicide rate in both 2021 and 2022 according the The Trevor Project. That number did decrease from 31% in 2021 to 21% in 2022. Native-American/Indigenous individuals are also more likely to experience housing instability, food insecurity, and foster care.
According to the HRC’s (Human Rights Campaign) 2020 Black LGBTQ Survey:
15% of Black LGBTQIA+ Millennials/Gen Z individuals reported discrimination in school based in the last three years on account of either their race or their sexual identity.
REPRESENTATION MATTERS
*Data taken from The Trevor Project’s 2022 Youth Mental Health Survey
In addition to supportive parents, teachers, peers, and greater communities, LGBTQIA+ youth report an essential part of their mental well being include seeing themselves represented in the media. Although the focus of this site is LGBTQIA+ YA literature,
89% of LGBTQIA+ Youth report feeling good about themselves when they see LGBTQIA+ representation in movies/TV.
67% feel good when athletes come out as LGBTQIA+
74% feel good when celebrities come out as LGBTQIA+
Works Cited
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015-2017). Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/yrbs. Accessed on 16 October 2022.
Green, A. E., Price, M. N., & Dorison, S. H. (2021). Cumulative minority stress and suicide risk among LGBTQ youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1–12.
Green, A. E., Price-Feeney, M., & Dorison, S.H. (2019). National Estimate of LGBTQ Youth Seriously Considering Suicide. New York, New York: The Trevor Project.
Hedegaard, H., Curtin, S.C., & Warner, M. (2018). Suicide mortality in the United States, 1999–2017. National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief, 330, Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
Human Rights Campaign (2018). 2018 LGBTQ Youth Report. https://www.hrc.org/resources/2018-lgbtq-youth-report
Human Rights Campaign (2020) Black LGBTQ Survery. https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Black-LGBTQ-Survey.pdf
Johns, M. M., Lowry, R., Haderxhanaj, L. T., et al. (2020). Trends in violence victimization and suicide risk by sexual identity among high school students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2015–2019. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69,(Suppl-1):19–27.
Price-Feeney, M., Green, A. E., & Dorison, S. (2020). Understanding the mental health of transgender and nonbinary youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 66(6), 684–690.
The Trevor Project. (2020). Research Brief: American Indian/Alaskan Native Youth Suicide Risk. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/american-indian-alaskan-native-youth-suicide-risk/
The Trevor Project. (2021). 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/assets/static/trevor01_2022survey_final.pdf
The Trevor Project. (2022). 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/assets/static/trevor01_2022survey_final.pdf
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