Research Brief: LGBTQ & Gender-Affirming Spaces
December 2020
This resource is from the Trevor Project
“LGBTQ youth are at elevated risk for poor mental health and suicide compared with straight/cisgender peers (Johns et al, 2019; Johns et al., 2020). Because this risk is related to the harmful ways LGBTQ youth are treated, rather than something about being LGBTQ in itself, increased acceptance and affirmation can reduce risk (Meyer, 2016). All LGBTQ youth deserve access to spaces — such as homes, schools, and workplaces — that positively affirm their LGBTQ identity. Unfortunately, not all LGBTQ youth experience acceptance of their identity, and physical distancing policies implemented to minimize the health risks of the COVID-19 pandemic can disrupt access to existing affirming spaces (Green, Price-Feeney, & Dorsion, 2020). This may be particularly true for transgender and nonbinary youth who have increased risk for attempting suicide due in large part to increased exposure to minority stress (Price-Feeney, Green, & Dorison, 2020; Hendricks & Testa, 2012). This brief uses data from The Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health to examine the association between access to affirming spaces and suicide attempts.”