An upward trend in suicidal thoughts among LGBTQ+ youth in the US has been identified in this year’s Trevor Project National Survey, including almost 34,000 participants aged between 13 and 24.
It was found that almost 45 per cent of those asked said they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the last 12 months. Almost one in five transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide, while youth of colour reported higher rates than their white peers.
Those LGBTQ youth who said they received a lot of social support from their family saw suicide rates that were less than half that of those who reported low or moderate social support.
Perhaps alarmingly, fewer than one in three transgender and nonbinary youth said they considered their home to be gender-affirming. Furthermore, it was found that 60 per cent of youth who did want to access mental healthcare in the last year found themselves unable to get it.
School support appeared to be an important factor, with study participants at schools that were LGBTQ-affirming reporting lower rates of attempting suicide. Community acceptance was also implicated as a factor in lower rates of attempted suicide.
Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project, commented on the findings, saying: “We hope these data and trends will be used by fellow researchers, policymakers, and youth-serving organizations to advance policies and practices that better support LGBTQ youth around the globe and work to end the public health crisis of suicide.”
The Trevor Project itself is the biggest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organisation for LGBTQ+ young people in the world. It is estimated that over 1.8 million LGTBQ young people seriously consider suicide every year in the US.
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