Mental health of LGBTQ+ youth suffering amid political hostility in Texas, other states, study says

The mental health of LGBTQ+ youth is deteriorating as lawmakers, including those in Texas, push legislation to curtail LGBTQ+ rights, according to a national survey released Monday by The Trevor Project.

About one in three survey participants said their mental health was poor “most of the time” or “always” due to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and policies being adopted or debated in Texas and other states.

What’s more, two in three said that “hearing about potential state or local laws banning people from discussing LGBTQ people at school (also known as ‘Don’t Say Gay’) made their mental health a lot worse.”

The Trevor Project was established in the late 1990s to curtail suicide among LGBTQ+ young people. Monday’s report is the nonprofit’s fifth annual mental health poll.

“As the existence of LGBTQ young people continues to be unfairly put up for debate, it’s critical to consistently underscore that these challenges are not inherent to LGBTQ identity, but rather stem from stigma, discrimination, and violence,” said Dr. Ronita Nath, vice president of research for The Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project’s survey also shows that 41% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including half of transgender and nonbinary young people.

In addition, a majority in the survey reported recent symptoms of anxiety (67%) and depression (54%). Yet 56% of young people who wanted mental health care in the past year were not able to get it.

In the Texas Legislature, Republican lawmakers are pushing bills to limit medical treatments for trans kids and young adults, including care supported by leading medical associations. Some have also thrown their support behind a bill that would even make such care unavailable to adults.

Some 30,000 13- to 17-year-olds in Texas identified as transgender in a 2022 federal survey.

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This article appears in Apr 19 – May 2, 2023.