Despite the myriad measures and protective policies California lawmakers have enacted to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth, it has not shielded queer and transgender young people in the Golden State from struggling with mental health issues. A new report is detailing how depression and suicide remain at elevated levels among those aged 13 to 24.
According to the Trevor Project's "2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People by State" report, being published Wednesday, 35% of LGBTQ+ young people in California "seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 39% of transgender and nonbinary young people." Eleven percent attempted suicide in the past year, including 14% of transgender and nonbinary young people.
Sixty-four percent reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety, including 69% of transgender and nonbinary young people. Meanwhile, 52% of LGBTQ+ young people in California reported experiencing symptoms of depression, including 57% of transgender and 64% nonbinary young people.
"Even among states with supportive LGBTQ-plus policies, LGBTQ-plus youth continue to face elevated suicide risk and high rates of LGBTQ-plus victimization. I think the findings do make it clear that communities all across the country must take action to support the health and well-being of LGBTQ-plus youth, for sure," said Ronita Nath, Ph.D., the vice president of research at The Trevor Project since January 2023.
The state-specific findings are based on the national nonprofit's survey last year of 18,000 LGBTQ+ young people ages 13-24 across the country, including in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The breakout statistics for California are based on the responses of the 1,800 LGBTQ+ youth from the Golden State who took part in the 2024 annual survey.
"Similar to previous research, these data reinforce that LGBTQ+ youth are not disproportionately impacted by suicide because of who they are, but rather, because of how they are mistreated, stigmatized, and discriminated against," noted Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black, the first Black and first nonbinary leader of the nonprofit. "This is an incredibly difficult time for many LGBTQ+ young people – and these findings give us critical insight into the unique challenges they face in every state. We hope lawmakers, advocates, youth-serving professionals, and allies in every corner of the country use this research to better understand and support the young people in their communities."
While the agency releases its mental health survey results each year, it does not routinely break the findings down by all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. This marks only the second time it has done so; after the initial state-by-state breakdown in 2022 was met with such positive interest, the agency decided to do it again and plans to release such reports every two years going forward.
"We really hope this 50-state report will provide, will help those in policymaking positions to gain a critical insight into what their LGBTQ-plus young people are facing in their states," said Nath, a straight ally currently based in Canada with her family who previously was splitting her time between New York and Boston.
'Snapshot in time'
Last year's survey recorded improved responses from California respondents compared to the state-based results released three years ago and based on the survey conducted in 2021. According to the 2022 report for California, 44% of LGBT youth had "seriously considered" suicide in the past year, with 54% of trans and nonbinary youth saying they had.
Fourteen percent of the LGBT youth had attempted suicide in the past year, with 19% of the trans and nonbinary youth saying they had. As for anxiety, 69% of all youth and 75% of trans and nonbinary youth, had experienced it, while 58% reported being depressed with 65% of trans and nonbinary youth reporting they had symptoms of depression.
Speaking to the Bay Area Reporter about the 2025 report for California LGBTQ+ youth, Nath stressed that it cannot be statistically compared to the 2022 report because the findings aren't based on random samples. Rather, each is meant to be a "snapshot" in time of what the sample of LGBTQ+ youth are experiencing.
"We are just taking this to mean this is the state of things right now amongst this group of LGBTQ-plus young people in California," noted Nath.
Nonetheless, seeing decreased numbers in this year's report for California compared to the 2022 report is "very, very hopeful," Nath allowed. "The idea is, hopefully, to continue to see that trend downward."
At the same time, having 35% of the California respondents to last year's survey reporting they had seriously considered taking their own life "is still quite high," Nath said.
"The goal would be for folks reading this report to think about where can improvements be made, and what can we do in our communities and states to provide more affirming spaces and to lower those suicidal thoughts and considerations for sure," said Nath.
What the findings make clear, Nath pointed out, is that even LGBTQ youth in California are not immune from the homophobic and transphobic rhetoric found online, or the anti-LGBTQ policies being pushed by Republican President Donald Trump, conservative GOP lawmakers in various statehouses, and even local leaders here in the Golden State.
"We do know that the policy environment matters," said Nath. "When you look at all these states, broadly speaking, LGBTQ-plus young people living in a state with more protective policies did report lower suicidal attempts and less barriers to care than those LGBTQ-plus young people living in hostile states. We know there is a consistent link between an affirming state and LGBTQ-plus young people's mental health."
California is likely to adopt additional pro-LGBTQ measures this year. As the B.A.R. reported last week, among this year's LGBTQ legislative package in the Statehouse is Assembly Bill 727 by gay Assemblymember Mark González (D-Los Angeles) that would require schools in the state serving students in grades 7 to 12, as well as colleges and universities, to include on student identification cards the Trevor Project's 24/7 suicide hotline 1-866-488-7386. (The text line can be accessed by texting START to 678-678.)
And Senate Bill 418 authored by lesbian state Senator Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) would prohibit health insurers from denying care to a person based on the sex they were assigned at birth, gender identity, or if they are intersex. It would apply to health insurance coverage or other health-related coverage.
Fifty percent of the LGBTQ California respondents to the Trevor Project survey reported being unable to access mental health care, with their reasons varying from being afraid to talk to someone and not wanting to get parental permission to see a therapist to the cost for therapy and fears it would lead to their being hospitalized or reported to police.
Due to the various anti-LGBTQ actions Trump has taken within his first weeks back at the White House, Nath told the B.A.R. she is "very concerned" that it will negatively impact the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ-plus youth who take part in the Trevor Project's survey this fall and in the years to come.
"Our work is about people, not politics. We strongly encourage all lawmakers and community leaders to really champion policies that protect the health of LGBTQ-plus youth and create policies that reduce suicide among LGBTQ-plus youth," said Nath.
Regional data
Based upon regional results to the Trevor Project's survey, LGBTQ+ youth living in states across the South had some of the highest rates of wanting but being unable to access mental health care (e.g., South Carolina 63%, Texas 60%) and some of the highest rates of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity (e.g., Alabama 65%, Arkansas 66%). They also had some of the lowest levels of community acceptance (e.g., Mississippi 21%, Tennessee 33%) compared to other regions.
As for the West, LGBTQ+ young people in the region had some of the highest reported rates of affirming home environments (e.g., Montana 54%, Oregon 54%) compared to their LGBTQ+ peers in other regions. However, they also reported some of the highest levels of depression, with 57% of LGBTQ+ youth in Oregon experiencing symptoms of depression in the past year.
The latest report from the Trevor Project adds more data to what LGBTQ young people are dealing with in today's political climate where their needs and rights are increasingly under attack. As the B.A.R. reported in January, a study published jointly by the Trevor Project and the Movement Advancement Project that used data sets from both organizations found roughly 266,000 LGBTQ+ young people and their families have uprooted their lives and left a state because of anti-LGBTQ politics or laws.
Based on the state-specific survey, 16% of LGBTQ+ young people reported that they or their family have considered leaving California for another state because of LGBTQ+-related politics and laws, including 18% of transgender and nonbinary young people. Of those aged 13 to 17, 53% reported being bullied, while 36% of those aged 18 to 24 had been.
Twenty percent of all the Golden State LGBTQ+ youth reported being physically threatened or harmed based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and 56% had been discriminated against for being LGBTQ. As for recent politics negatively impacting their well-being, 47% of the LGBTQ+ young people said it had "a lot" and 41% responded "sometimes."
"We tell people you don't need to be experts in LGBTQ-youth topics or identities to show young people that you care," said Nath. "No matter where you lived growing up or how you were raised or what your comfort level is with LGBTQ topics, it is never too late to show LGBTQ-plus young people they are loved."
The report with data pertaining to each of the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. can be found online at thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024-by-state.
Young people experiencing a crisis can contact the Trevor Project's 24/7 suicide hotline at 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 768-768.
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