LGBTQIA+ Community

Note: various acronyms are used to reflect the acronym used in the study or survey cited.

Ensuring access to inclusive and safe mental health services is vital for the mental health and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community. Discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons has been associated with high rates of psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, and suicide.1 Individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community are at an especially higher risk of suicide than the average population. Hostile environments, discrimination, prejudice, denial of civil and human rights, harassment, family rejection, and more can result in mental health conditions that contribute to suicidology.2

Further, these experiences hinder individuals accessing care. Almost one quarter of transgender individuals report avoiding doctors or health care services from discrimination concerns and more than half of LGBTQ+ people report experiencing cases of discrimination in the health care field including denial of care, harsh language, or having their sexual orientation or gender identity blamed as the cause for an illness.3

These challenges and mental health impacts are especially prevalent in youth. According to a 2023 national survey of young LGBTQ people:

  • 67 percent reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety;
  • 54 percent reported experiencing symptoms of depression;
  • 81 percent reported wanting mental health care;
  • 56 percent of those who wanted mental health care in the past year were not able to access it; and
  • LGBTQ youth who wanted mental health care but were unable to access it said their top reasons were fear of talking about their mental health concerns with someone else and not wanting to get their parent/caregiver’s permission.4

At rates higher than their peers, LGBTQ+ youth experience violence (including sexual violence), bullying, feeling persistently sad and hopeless, and being at-risk for attempting suicide.5 These youth’s risk of suicide is underscored by the data:

  • 41 percent of LGB youth seriously considered suicide in the past year and 14 percent report an attempted suicide in the last year.6
  • These numbers are even higher for transgender and nonbinary youth and LGBTQ youth of color:
    • Nearly half of transgender and nonbinary youth have attempted suicide;
    • 51 percent of transgender males and 30 percent of transgender females (ages 11-19) report an attempted suicide at least once in their life; and
    • LGBTQ youth of color reported higher rates than their white peers.7,8

However, LGBTQIA+ suicide can be reduced by having supportive families, peers, and mentors. LGBTQ young people who had access to affirming homes, schools, community events, and online spaces reported lower rates of attempting suicide compared to those who did not.9 Affirming gender identity among transgender and nonbinary young people is consistently associated with lower rates of attempting suicide.10 Within the education system, positive school climates for LGBTQ youth are associated with decreased depression, suicidal feelings, substance use, and unexcused school absences for these youth.11

Public policies that negatively impact or exclude LGBTQIA+ people have detrimental impacts on their mental health. Nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people said their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to stress created by anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation.12 During the 88th legislative session and four special sessions, over 70 bills were filed that would have negatively impacted LGBTQIA+ Texans.13 Bills included banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth, state preemption of local nondiscrimination ordinances, eliminating conversion therapy bans, criminalizing drag shows, banning university diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and programs, and more.14

References

  1. Healthy People 2030. (2016). LGBT. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/lgbt ↩︎
  2. National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). LGBTQI. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/LGBTQI ↩︎
  3. Kates, J., Ranji, U., Beamesderfer, A., Salganicoff, A., & Dawson, L. (2016). Health and access to care and coverage for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in the U.S. Kaiser Family Foundation.  http://kff.org/report-section/health-and-access-to-care-and-coverage-for-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-health-challenges/ ↩︎
  4. The Trevor Project. (2023). 2023 U.S. national survey on the mental health of LGBTQ young people. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/assets/static/05_TREVOR05_2023survey.pdf ↩︎
  5. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). LGBT youth.  https://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm ↩︎
  6. Ibid.  ↩︎
  7. Ibid. ↩︎
  8. Toomey, R. B., Syvertsen, A. K., & Shramko, M. (2018). Transgender adolescent suicide behavior. Pediatrics,142 (4): e20174218. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-4218 ↩︎
  9. Russell, S.T & Fish, J.N. (2016). Mental health in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) youth. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology (12), 465-487. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093153 ↩︎
  10. The Trevor Project. (2023). 2023 U.S. national survey on the mental health of LGBTQ young people. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/assets/static/05_TREVOR05_2023survey.pdf ↩︎
  11. Russell, S.T & Fish, J.N. (2016). Mental health in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) youth. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology (12), 465-487. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093153 ↩︎
  12. Ibid.  ↩︎
  13. Equality Texas. (2023). Legislative bill tracker. https://www.equalitytexas.org/legislature/legislative-bill-tracker-2023/ ↩︎
  14. Equality Texas. (2023). Legislative bill tracker. https://www.equalitytexas.org/legislature/legislative-bill-tracker-2023/  ↩︎

Updated on December 12th, 2024



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