New CDC report says LGBTQ+ youth have worse mental health than others

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey The report includes data on a wide range of health-related behaviors among U.S. high school students and breaks those behaviors down into different demographics. The results underscore that we are in the midst of a youth mental health crisis that has Deteriorating over the years — This problem is particularly acute for LGBTQ+ youth.

According to the report, 41% of LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, 32% have made a suicide plan, and 20% have attempted suicide. In comparison, 13% of cisgender and heterosexual students have seriously considered suicide, 11% have made a suicide plan, and 6% have attempted suicide.

While representation and rights for the LGBTQ+ community have improved over the past few decades, large numbers of queer and trans children continue to live in environments that are hostile to their survival. This is a long-standing and ongoing problem. Conservative culture war It aims to reverse the progress made by the LGBTQ+ community in recent years, ultimately leading to legislation and policies that are harmful to LGBTQ+ youth, e.g. Restricting gender-affirming health careforcing schools Coming out to queer and transgender students Their parents, Banned Books Contains LGBTQ+ content.

In order to understand how to help reduce the vast mental health disparities among LGBTQ+ youth, we must first understand the overall youth mental health crisis, as well as the unique challenges LGBTQ+ youth face.

Life as a teenager is never easy, but it’s clear that today’s teens are facing a mental health crisis. One of the main reasons In the United States, teenagers have a higher mortality rate. Depression and anxiety. Since the early 2010s, the situation has only gotten worse.

The 2023 report, which is conducted every other year, collected more than 20,000 questionnaires from students in 155 schools across the U.S. CDC researchers found that while teens’ health and well-being improved, other mental health indicators generally worsened.

However, we shouldn’t lose sight of the silver lining. The percentage of Hispanic teens who made a suicide plan dropped from 19% in 2021 to 16% in 2023. During the same period, the percentage of black students who attempted suicide dropped from 14% to 10%.

But for LGBTQ+ youth (who report suicide rates higher than all other groups), there isn’t enough comparable data to show how the YRBS is changing over time. 2015 was the first year the CDC began measuring sexual orientation as a demographic, but at the time it only included lesbian, gay, and bisexual as options. In 2021, they adjusted this to include students questioning their sexual orientation. Only this latest report now includes transgender students. Because of these measurement changes, it will take years before we have a more accurate picture of LGBTQ+ mental health.

While the report provides us with a lot of useful information, it does not provide data for young people with multiple identities, such as LGBTQ+ young people of color, who face their own unique challenges.

“Queer youth of color, trans youth of color, not only do they have to deal with the stigma associated with being a queer youth and being a trans youth of color, but they also have to deal with the stigma that intersects between the two,” Ellen MalloryMallory, an assistant professor of human development at Ohio State University, said dealing with the intersection of these identities can be stressful for LGBTQ+ youth of color.

There is no single cause of poor mental health and suicidal tendencies in adolescents, but researchers have proposed some hypotheses. The Great Debate A major mental health concern among teenagers is social media and smartphone use. Some researchers These digital tools are the main factor that has worsened the trend. Other experts believe Cell phones and social media are not the root cause of declining mental health among teens, noting that for kids who lack connections in real life, finding community online can be a real comfort.

It may seem surprising that despite increased social attention to LGBTQ+ rights, the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth appears to be worsening. There has been a lot of improvement in recent decades. So why hasn’t this translated into improved mental health?

There may be a reason for this seeming paradox. The increased acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community has increased their visibility and has also led to them coming out as gay or transgender at a younger age. This means that children are coming out as gay or transgender in early adolescence, rather than in adulthood or even later.

However, there is a particular period in human development—the teenage years—when self-awareness and peer discipline increase, especially for those teens who are going through the coming-out process. Stephen RussellProfessor and Dean of the College of Human Ecology at the University of Texas at Austin calls this “Development Collision”

“Developmentally, this is when kids are most comfortable coming out as gay,” Russell says. For LGBTQ+ teens, this period of peer control can mean facing bullying and discrimination from classmates based on their sexual orientation or gender — a unique challenge for teens. (Hiding one’s sexual orientation isn’t the answer, either. Kids should be true to themselves, not hiding out of shame.)

He added: “In this day and age, coming out at a younger age can spark, bring about and create some wonderful things, but it can also bring shame and other types of vulnerabilities.”

Other larger structural and environmental issues are also contributing to this mental health crisis. Climate Change growing up Gun violenceThe search for security and stability – essential for physical and mental health – has taken its toll. More than 200,000 children under 18 lost their parents or guardians As of 2022, this possibility cannot be ruled out. The culture war on “wokeness” Proposed by conservative politicians and pundits in an effort to reignite hostility toward youth of color and LGBTQ+ youth.

To be clear, it’s not the fault of these youth that they are going through basic developmental stages, that they are LGBTQ+, or that they are dealing with major issues. This means that LGBTQ+ youth face unique challenges that must be recognized when developing and implementing mental health interventions.

The field of LGBTQ+ youth mental health is still evolving, as is how to approach it from both a clinical and public health perspective. But there are many promising interventions to address this crisis.

From a bigger picture perspective, implementing practices that impact people’s daily lives is key. For teenagers, a large part of daily life is school-related. An easy (and almost obvious) place to start is to develop inclusive, detailed policies for LGBTQ+ youth – basically, protecting them from bullying and discrimination.

“These policies we’re seeing at the state and school district level have a significant impact on the school experience that LGBTQ youth have in their daily lives,” Jessica FishAssociate Professor, Director Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Health Research Group at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

Various Research Proven LGBTQ+ students in school Inclusive, enumerated policies Less exposure to bullying and less exposure to bullying – two things that have a huge impact on a child’s mental health. Sports promotion projecta nonprofit think tank dedicated to equality and democracy, 53% of LGBTQ+ people live in states without laws protecting LGBTQ+ students from school bullying, and 42% live in states without laws protecting these youth from discrimination.

If tackling state laws seems too difficult, it’s okay to start with individual school communities. Take Gender and Sexual Orientation Alliances (GSAs, formerly known as Gay-Straight Alliances). They are student-led clubs that provide a way for LGBTQ+ and ally students to connect, support, and learn from one another. All of the public health experts I spoke to mentioned GSAs—there’s a lot of strong evidence that these groups can create safer school climates. Reduced risk of suicide and depression.

While researchers already have a lot of good information about what works to improve mental health among LGBTQ+ youth, there is still a lot of room for more data. This is especially true when it comes to understanding what works for transgender youth and LGBTQ+ youth of color.

It’s important to note that, despite a real mental health crisis among LGBTQ+ youth, many grow up to be content and productive adults. Their depression and suicide are not caused by their identity, but by the stigma and discrimination they face at home, in schools, and in institutions, at an age that makes them vulnerable and dependent on their surroundings.

There are many barriers to getting clinical help or implementing measures in schools. Understandably, this can be an uphill battle for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. But Fish says nothing is impossible.

“These things require mobilization and require a lot of advocacy and grassroots support within the community,” she told me. “So I think all of these are possible, but I think it’s just a matter of trying to figure out where the vantage point for change is.”

A version of this article originally appeared on Future Perfect communication. Register Here!