Dive Brief:
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LGBTQ+ youth in the South reported greater difficulty accessing mental health care, some of the highest rates of discrimination, and some of the lowest levels of community acceptance compared to those in other regions of the country, The Trevor Project reported Wednesday
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In the Midwest, LGBTQ+ youth reported higher rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts, according to the nonprofit that provides crisis support services for LGTBQ+ people.
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Despite those in the West reporting some of the highest rates of affirming home environments, they also showed higher levels of depression. Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ youth in the Northeast reported higher levels of community acceptance and lower rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Dive Insight:
The findings come as part of a 50-state analysis of survey data collected from more than 18,000 LGBTQ+ young people ages 13-24 in fall 2023.
“Similar to previous research, these data reinforce that LGBTQ+ youth are not disproportionately impacted by suicide because of who they are, but rather, because of how they are mistreated, stigmatized and discriminated against,” said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, in a March 5 statement.
Many of the states that showed higher rates of mental health challenges are located in regions where anti-LGBTQ+ school policies and legislative proposals have been more prevalent over the past five years.
For example, 60% of Texan youth said they wanted to access mental health care but were unable to. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 attempted to expand the definition of child abuse to include gender-afirming care for LGBTQ+ youth, though that move was halted by the courts.
Some of the state's schools also faced federal civil rights complaints from the American Civil Liberties Union over bathroom and facilities policies, as well as bans on library materials that discussed or depicted "gender fluidity."
So far in 2025, Texas has the most anti-transgender bills introduced compared to other states, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization tracking bills that impact transgender and gender-diverse people.
Indeed, a 2024 Trevor Project report found the percentage of LGBTQ+ students saying that recent politics had negatively affected their mental health had skyrocketed from 66% in 2023 to 90% in 2024.
LGBTQ+ young people are facing an "incredibly difficult time," Black said on Wednesday, calling for youth-serving professionals to better support young people in their communities.
“Many of these state findings are grim, and they signal serious gaps in resources and outsized mental health challenges for already marginalized youth that we simply must address,” said Ronita Nath, vice president of research at The Trevor Project, in a statement.
The organization suggests that schools make an effort to use the pronouns students go by, decorate spaces with LGTBQ+ flags or posters, and integrate LGBTQ+ history and topics into conversation, among other things. However, the political climate in Republican-majority regions and at the federal level has made those expressions of support for LGTBQ+ students a challenge for many schools.
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring transgender girls and women from participating on sports teams aligning with their gender identity, akin to policies in a number of states.
Trump also signed an executive order in January, just days after entering the Oval Office, that called for pulling funding from schools for “gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology."
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