The 2024 election year may have made LGBTQ+ mental health worsehttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/the-2024-election-year-may-have-made-lgbtq-mental-health-worse/ 🔗Faefyx Collington (16 Oct 2025)
A new study released today by The Trevor Project provides new insight into the mental health crisis among LGBTQ+ youth in the United States, and proves that it is getting worse. The study demonstrates the link between risk factors and worsening mental health, but also examines the potent effect that a range of protective factors has in supporting LGBTQ+ youth.
"While many of the findings in this study are devastating, they are not surprising. LGBTQ+ young people in this country continue to face elevated levels of stigma and political rhetoric, which take a serious toll on their mental health and well-being," said The Trevor Project's CEO, Jaymes Black.
The Trevor Project's study found a huge increase in self-reporting for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation between initial survey responses and one-year follow-ups. The percentages of LGBTQ+ youth reporting anxiety symptoms rose from 57% to 68%, depressive symptoms from 48% to 54%, and suicidal ideation from 41% to 47%. Consistently, trans, nonbinary, and gender-questioning (TGNB) participants reported higher incidents of all symptoms than their cisgender peers.
That increase is concerning, but possibly not unexpected, as the data was gathered across the 2024 presidential campaign and election. As The Trevor Project's researchers put it, "The study period overlapped with a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric, which likely contributed to worsening mental health and increased barriers to necessary care. At the same time, the data underscore the powerful protective effects of family support, affirming environments, and access to culturally competent mental health and transgender health care."
