A report released this week by a youth suicide prevention group found that young LGBTQ+ people who are disabled have higher rates of mental health issues and are at greater risk of suicide compared to their non-disabled peers.
The Trevor Project, a national suicide prevention nonprofit that serves LGBTQ+ youth, surveyed more than 28,500 LGBTQ+ people between the ages of 13 and 24 for its study, 7,780 of whom identified as having a disability. Results of the survey, released in a report on Friday, suggest that those who identified a disability faced a much higher risk of experiencing mental health issues and suicidal thoughts, exacerbated by discrimination over their disabilities.
About 68% of the disabled LGBTQ+ youth surveyed said they felt they were discriminated against for their actual (or perceived) disabilities in 2023. Hobaica told HuffPost that systemic and individual discrimination, or “minority stress,” is frequently tied to higher rates of mental health symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, and suicidal tendencies among LGBTQ+ youth.
While the implications for mental health among LGBTQ+ youth are concerning to researchers, the report identified a light at the end of the tunnel: affirming mental health care.
Read more at Huffpost.com.
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