LGBTQ+ teens and young adults often face unique mental health challenges, with surveys consistently showing that they experience greater distress compared to their heterosexual peers. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that 69 percent of LGBTQ+ students had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year, in contrast to 35 percent of heterosexual students. Moreover, LGBTQ+ students were more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide, according to the same survey.
In addition to grappling with mental health disparities, LGBTQ+ students find themselves contending with state legislation that can negatively impact their rights. Several Republican-led state legislatures have enacted bills restricting discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. These bills may also prevent school staff from using a student’s preferred pronouns or names if they differ from the sex assigned at birth, while sometimes requiring teachers to inform parents if students request a different name or pronouns.
A 2022 survey by The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization, discovered that nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ+ teens and young adults reported that their mental health significantly deteriorated upon hearing about legislative proposals aimed at limiting discussions of LGBTQ+ issues in schools.
Education Week conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,034 high school students in August and September. The survey found that 46 percent of LGBTQ+ high school students had used mental health services provided by their school in the past year, compared to 39 percent of their heterosexual peers. An additional 22 percent of LGBTQ+ students needed mental health services but did not receive them through their school, with 10 percent of heterosexual students facing the same situation.
To gain insight into the experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ students in this political climate, Education Week conducted interviews with three young adults. Here are their perspectives, edited for brevity and clarity.
