“My fear keeps me from seeing a counselor about things like my anxiety and depression. I don’t know how they might react [to my LGBTQ+ identity], so I’d rather go online or talk to my other queer friends about it.” “I wait until I get home to use the bathroom, even when I’m at school for 10-plus hours.” These are some of the comments in the 2018 LGBTQ+ Youth Report, the largest ever survey of LGBTQ+ teens in the United States. Conducted by the nonprofit Human Rights Campaign, the Washington, DC–based civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans, and researchers at the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, the survey was conducted online among more than 12,000 teens ages 13 to 17 from all 50 states and Washington, DC. Ryan Watson, PhD, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the university and the survey’s principal investigator, says the researchers took “a holistic approach to better understand the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ young people.” What that means is asking questions about sexual and gender identity, experiences at school and at home, health behaviors, and the types of support these teens receive from important people in their lives,” Dr. Watson explains. The key results of the survey, he says, are that teenagers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer overwhelmingly feel unsafe in their own school classrooms and are experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety, and rejection. Among the findings:
95 percent of LGBTQ+ youth reported trouble sleeping at night.77 percent of LGBTQ+ teenagers surveyed reported feeling depressed over the past week on average.More than 70 percent reported feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness in the past week.LGBTQ+ youth of color and transgender teenagers reported the highest levels of rejection and isolation — only 11 percent of youth of color surveyed said they believe their racial or ethnic group is regarded positively in the U.S.50 percent of trans and gender-expansive youth said they never use school restrooms because they are unable to access those that align with their gender identity.Only 26 percent said they always feel safe in their school classrooms — and just 5 percent said all their teachers and school staff are supportive of LGBTQ+ people.67 percent reported hearing family members make negative comments about LGBTQ+ people.
Watson points out that the survey comes after an announcement last year by the Trump Administration that the United States Census Bureau would not collect data on the LGBTQ+ community, with one exception, as part of the 2020 Census, despite a request in 2017 to do so from four federal agencies including the Justice Department. The exception is that the 2020 Census will ask if couples are in same-sex or opposite-sex relationships. The survey researchers and the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group in the U.S., say they hope to use the information to better inform young adults in the LGBTQ+ community, their parents, teachers, and policy makers. An additional aim is to examine disparities for sexual and gender minority adolescents across health indices, such as obesity, eating behaviors, and physical activity. “This can help to identify which vulnerable groups of LGBTQ+ youth need increased support to improve health,” says Rebecca Puhl, PhD, a professor of human development and family studies and the deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Puhl is also a survey co-investigator. Watson says the upshot to the survey for him is that “despite some norms, we see a lot of struggles and stress.” “A lot of kids are not coming out to their families,” he says. “A lot of kids, especially transgender teens, still aren’t called by the name by which they want to be called at school; we see still high levels of negative experiences, despite the advance in the last years in terms of laws, public opinion, and social attitudes." Watson says we can better understand what LGBTQ+ youngsters are going through if we analyze their experience as a form of “minority stress,” the kind of pressure felt by any group that considers itself or is treated as socially marginalized — with its attendant “distal and proximal” issues: For LGBTQ+ people, the distal (external) issues may include people treating you poorly because you are gay or lesbian, bi-, trans, or queer, such as harassing you and calling you names or slurs specific to your identity. Proximal issues involve your own feelings and beliefs that you have internalized, such as being afraid to come out because you have been told it’s bad and feel the stress of concealing your identity. “Straight kids don’t have to worry about those things,” Watson says. So what can and should parents, teachers, and others do? “Be inclusive in language,” Watson says, and not just with LGBTQ+ teens but with all teens, so that we’re not making assumptions about anyone. For example, ask: “Do you have a romantic partner?" rather than “Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?” Other pointers:
Research shows that parents are extremely important for the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth, says Watson. Be as supportive as possible.Read up. Learn about the struggles of LGBTQ+ teens, learn more about LGBTQ+ experiences and what queer teens might need. Be open-minded.Get involved whether you have an LGBTQ+ teen or not by asking schools for inclusive curriculums and antibullying policies. Stand up for youngsters — any youngsters — who are bullied. “We need to teach kindness and the importance of love to kids,” says Watson.
Errol Fields, MD, MPH, PhD, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore and an expert in transgender health, says that usual sources of support and guidance, such as school counselors and pastors, may not be of help to LGBTQ+ teens. He suggests looking for resources specifically for teens through dedicated organizations such as the Trevor Project, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
