LGBTQ+ Mental Health Statistics in 2024
Mental health challenges have long plagued the LGBTQ+ community. Individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer disproportionately experience a range of mental health challenges compared to their heterosexual peers.
Let’s look at some statistics you need to know about LGBTQ+ mental health in 2024.
Key Takeaways:
- Recent data suggests that 66% of LGBTQ+ youth experience anxiety symptoms, including anxiety rates of 71% among transgender and nonbinary individuals.
- Among adults aged 18 and older who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and experienced mental illness, 28% also struggled with substance abuse disorders.
- From the Trevor Project’s 2024 survey, 50% of LGBTQ+ youth who needed mental health care in the past year couldn’t access it.
- 60% of LGBTQ+ youth reported experiencing discrimination in the last year because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- 90% of LGBTQ+ youth reported that recent politics negatively impacted their well-being, with 53% significantly affected.
- 32% of LGBTQ+ youth experienced verbal harassment at school due to their perceived LGBTQ+ identity.
General Insights
Here are some general insights into LGBTQ+ mental health in 2024:
- As per the Trevor Project’s 2024 survey where 18,000 LGBTQ+ youth aged 13 to 24 were surveyed:
- 90% of LGBTQ+ youth expressed that recent politics had a negative impact on their well-being. More than half (53%) stated that politics significantly affected their well-being.
- 32% of LGBTQ+ youth reported they were verbally harassed at school because others thought they were LGBTQ+.
- 60% of LGBTQ+ youth stated that they experienced discrimination in the last year because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- 66% of LGBTQ+ youth indicated they had recently experienced anxiety symptoms, with rates reaching 71% among transgender and nonbinary individuals and nearly 58% among cisgender youth.
- Nearly half (49%) of LGBTQ+ youth aged 13 to 17 reported experiencing bullying in the past year, which correlates with increased rates of reported suicide attempts during the same period.
- 53% of LGBTQ+ youth reported recent symptoms of depression, including approximately 59% of transgender and nonbinary youth and more than 44% of cisgender youth.
- According to the Trevor Project’s survey report, the symptoms of anxiety and depression reported among LGBTQ+ youth based on sexual orientation are as follows:
- In the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey, high school students who identify as LGBTQ+ exhibited a 28% higher prevalence of emotional distress compared to cisgender homosexual students.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2011-2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that LGBTQ+ high school students were “significantly more likely to experience all forms of violence” compared to their peers. Nearly 70% reported experiencing “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.”
- According to the same survey, 29% of high school students reported poor mental health in the past 30 days in 2021. Among these, 52% of LGBTQ+ students reported poor mental health compared to 22% of their heterosexual peers.
- The 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) revealed the following information about mental illness among different LGBTQ+ age groups:
Effects of Mental Health Issues on the LGBTQ+ Population
Mental health issues have wide-ranging effects. Here are some statistics highlighting the effects of poor mental health in the LGBTQ+ community:
- According to the Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, 39% of LGBTQ+ youth thought about attempting suicide in the past year. This includes 46% of transgender and nonbinary young people. LGBTQ+ youth of color reported higher rates compared to their White peers.
- Nearly 39% of LGBTQ+ youth reported that either they or their families have thought about relocating to another state due to anti-LGBTQ+ politics and laws.
- According to the 2019 NSDUH, among the 6.8 million adults aged 18 and older who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and experienced mental illness, 1.9 million (28%) also struggled with substance abuse disorders.
- The 2019 NSDUH also reports the count of adults who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and had either a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, or both, rose by 20.5% from 2018 to 2019, reaching a total of 7.6 million individuals.
- According to the 2022 NSDUH, 28.7% of LGB adults aged 18 years or above had serious thoughts of suicide in 2022. LGB adults were more inclined to have experienced serious considerations of suicide compared to heterosexual adults.
- 3.3% of bisexual adults, 1.9% of gay adults, and 1.3% of lesbian adults over 18 years of age attempted suicide in the past year as per the 2022 NSDUH.
LGBTQ+ Mental Health Treatment Statistics
Here are some statistics on LGBTQ+ mental health treatment:
- According to the Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People:
- Among all LGBTQ+ young people, 84% desired mental health care.
- 50% of LGBTQ+ young people who needed mental health care in the past year couldn’t access it. This included nearly half of transgender and nonbinary young people (49%) and more than half of cisgender young people (52%).
- Among the 42% of LGBTQ+ young people who received psychological or emotional counseling in the past year, most got help through in-person one-on-one therapy (69%) or online video therapy (53%).
- 59.7% of LGB adults who had previously experienced mental health issues identified themselves as currently in recovery or actively recovering, according to the 2019 NSDUH.
- According to the 2022 NSDUH, among LGB adults aged 18 or older with a substance use disorder and serious mental illness in 2019, 27.4% received no treatment, 72.6% received either substance use treatment at a specialty facility or mental health services, and 13.5% received both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the Barriers to LGBTQ+ Mental Health?
Barriers to LGBTQ+ mental health include stigma, discrimination, lack of understanding from healthcare providers, and limited access to culturally competent care. Fear of disclosing identity due to potential rejection or harm also results in impaired mental health in the LGBTQ+ population.
What Is Minority Stress in LGBTQ+?
Minority stress in LGBTQ+ individuals refers to the unique, chronic stressors people experience due to their marginalized status in society. This includes discrimination, prejudice, stigma, and rejection from family, friends, or society.
How Many LGBTQ+ Teens Have Mental Health Issues?
67% of LGBTQ+ teens reported experiencing anxiety while 53% of LGBTQ+ youth reported recent symptoms of depression according to The Trevor Project’s 2024 survey.
The rates of anxiety are 71% among transgender and nonbinary individuals and 58% among cisgender teens.
Many teens experiencing anxiety and depression turn to substance abuse to feel better.
To understand the impact of substance abuse, check out our post on teen DUI statistics in California.
Data Sources
1. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/assets/static/TTP_2024_National_Survey.pdf
2. https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/lgbt_in_britain_health.pdf
4. https://mn.gov/mmb/one-mn-plan/measurable-goals/childrens-mental-health.jsp
5. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt31104/2019NSDUH-LGB/LGB%202019%20NSDUH.pdf
6. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/YRBS_Data-Summary-Trends_Report2023_508.pdf
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