Bullying and Politics Fuel Suicide Risk for LGBTQ+ Teens and Young Adults, Survey Finds

THURSDAY, May 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) — More than a third of LGBTQ+ young people have seriously considered suicide in the past year, driven by bullying from both peers and politicians, a new survey has found.

About 36% of LGBTQ+ teens and young adults seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including 40% of transgender and nonbinary young people, according to the 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People.

“Given the current climate in our country, it comes as no surprise that many LGBTQ+ young people are reporting high rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidality,” Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a news release.

“These young people report they are being bullied, discriminated against, and debated about by politicians simply for being themselves,” Black said.

The survey included 16,667 LGBTQ+ individuals ages 13 to 24 living in the United States. It was conducted by The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis organization for LGBTQ+ young people.

“I’m just a person. I want to live like the rest of humanity,” a 16-year-old respondent from Texas told The Trevor Project. “I want to one day be able to be a husband and father, but my hope for that diminishes when I’m not even allowed to be a son.”

The survey found that:

• 1 in 10 LGBTQ+ young people attempted suicide in the past year.

• Nearly two-thirds (62%) reported recent symptoms of anxiety and almost half (47%) symptoms of depression.

• 9 out of 10 said recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, policies and debates caused them stress or anxiety.

• Nearly 3 out of 5 (59%) LGBTQ+ teens experienced bullying in the past year.

• About 22% of those who’d been bullied had attempted suicide in the past year, compared to 7% of those who hadn’t.

“Similar to previous research, this national survey demonstrates that LGBTQ+ youth experience these negative mental health outcomes not because of who they are, but because of how they are mistreated by others,” Black said.

The survey also found that America’s health care system is failing LGBTQ+ young people.

More than four out of five (84%) LGBTQ+ teens and young adults want mental health care, but 44% were not able to get it, results show.

Among transgender and nonbinary people, 10% of teens and 44% of young adults reported taking hormones to support their gender transition or expression.

Those who said they were unable to access hormones to support their gender transition or expression were nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide — 15% versus 8%.

“When you are forced to be the gender you were born with, it feels like you’re constantly stepping in a wet sock. Not comfortable, is it?” said a 15-year-old from New York quoted in the report. “Being able to be trans or nonbinary is like taking the wet sock off, and being affirmed is like putting a new, dry sock on.”

Survey results agreed, finding that LGBTQ+ do better when they live in communities that welcome and accept them.

Those living in very accepting communities attempted suicide at nearly a third of the rate of those in very hostile communities — 6% versus 18%.

And most LGBTQ+ young people who attend school (85%) said they have at least one adult at school who is supporting and affirming of their identity.

“I would say it’s a matter of acceptance, not understanding,” the report quoted an 18-year-old person from Maine. “I don’t understand physics and its laws but that doesn’t mean that physics doesn’t exist, or that it exists in a way I want it to. So you may not ‘understand’ it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t accept it.”

“While many of these results are difficult to read, this year’s data point to a hopeful reality for LGBTQ+ youth in the U.S., too: When LGBTQ+ young people report they have welcoming and supportive communities, spaces, and people in their lives, their risk for attempting suicide lowers significantly,” Black said.

“As adults and allies, this is our call to action: we must continue to vocally and visibly show the LGBTQ+ young people in our lives that they belong, exactly as they are,” Black said.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, expert and confidential advice is available 24/7 on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors also are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.

More information

The Kids Mental Health Foundation has more on supporting LGBTQ+ youth.

SOURCES: The Trevor Project, news release, May 6, 2026; 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, May 6, 2026