Between late 2023 and early 2025, LGBTQ+ youth in the United States reported worsening anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, according to a
study issued today by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ youth advocacy organization.
“While many of the findings in this study are devastating, they are not surprising,” Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, said in a
news release. “LGBTQ+ young people in this country continue to face elevated levels of stigma and political rhetoric, which take a serious toll on their mental health and well-being.”
Ronita Nath, Ph.D., M.P.H., vice president of research at the Trevor Project, and colleagues recruited 1,689 U.S. residents ages 13 to 24 who self-identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community (median age 18, 68% youth of color, 53% transgender, nonbinary, or gender-questioning). Respondents answered questions related to their mental health, well-being, and lived experiences across three six-month waves that began in September 2023 and ended in March 2025.
Nearly all the assessed mental health outcomes worsened over the study period:
- The proportion of participants who reported experiencing anxiety symptoms rose from 57% at baseline to 68% in the third wave.
- The proportion who reported experiencing depressive symptoms rose from 38% to 54%.
- The proportion who reported experiencing suicidal ideation rose from 41% to 47%.
- Transgender, nonbinary, and gender-questioning youth and participants ages 13 to 17 reported the poorest mental health outcomes and highest risk for suicide.
- The percentage of participants who reported being able to access the mental health care they desired fell from 80% to 60%.
Past-year suicide attempts fell from 11% at baseline to 7% in the third wave, though the study authors noted that this rate is still higher than national estimates among cisgender, heterosexual youth.
The authors acknowledged that these findings are subject to the limitations of self-report surveys, such as the influence of recall bias or social desirability effects when answering, particularly around sensitive topics such as suicide or conversion therapy. Still, as Nath stated in the news release: “This report provides one of the first, and only, national-scale portraits of LGBTQ+ youth mental health in the U.S. that follows the same young people over time, rather than offering a one-time snapshot of their experiences.... [E]vidence like this is essential for informing interventions that effectively support and improve mental health outcomes among LGBTQ+ youth.”