Report links discrimination to elevated suicide and mental health risks for LGBTQ+ youth
A Trevor Project report from the Project SPARK study found that LGBTQ+ young people face elevated anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts amid discrimination and other stressors. Exposure to or threats of conversion therapy, housing instability and gender-identity victimization were associated with especially higher risks. The report also says supportive environments and access to care can reduce these risks.
Project SPARK has tracked roughly 1,700 LGBTQ+ participants, ages 13–24, across the U.S. through surveys every six months since September 2023. Its two-year follow-up found that conversion-therapy exposure or threats corresponded with almost threefold higher odds of suicidal thinking or behavior; housing instability and gender-identity-based victimization each more than doubled self-harm or suicidal-thought risk.
The report also recorded rising stressors: discrimination among transgender, nonbinary, or gender-questioning youth; more conversion-therapy threats and experiences; more homelessness and unmet basic needs; and bathroom exclusion. Yet four in five said they received wanted mental-health support, and its perceived usefulness climbed sharply.
The findings could shape how schools, clinicians, families, and youth-serving groups think about everyday supports for LGBTQ+ adolescents and young adults. Because the study links discrimination and unstable housing to elevated suicide-related risk, changes in those environments may affect not only these young people but also peers, caregivers, and crisis services. The report’s emphasis on care access and community connection may encourage more targeted outreach, though the survey-based findings cannot by themselves prove cause and effect.