Anti-LGBTQ+ media is worsening young people’s mental health

Exposure to anti-LGBTQ+ media increases suicidal ideation among young LGBTQ+ adults, according to a new study from Vanderbilt University in Nashville published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study suggests that recent public debates over LGBTQ+ rights—and transgender rights in particular—may be harming young people’s mental well-being. Such debates have only increased as Republicans have introduced over 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills nationwide this year.

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Pro-LGBTQ+ laws boost queer people’s mental health

“I walk around my city, and I see businesses that have gay pride flags and pride flags in their windows,” one gay man said.

Researchers examined 31 young LGBTQ+ adults from Tennessee between the ages of 18 and 24 who have histories of suicidal ideation and at least mild depression over the past year. The adults were contacted three times a day for 28 consecutive days and asked about their exposure to news and media — whether they had been exposed to no media, generally negative/neutral media, or anti-LGBTQ+ media. Participants were then asked to rank their feelings of active and passive suicidal ideation and self-harm on a scale of 0 to 10.

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The study found that suicidal ideation intensity modestly increased in the hours immediately following exposure to negative LGBTQ+ news. It didn’t find any increased suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm when participants were exposed to general negative/neutral news and media.

While such a small study may not necessarily reflect trends in the world at large, researchers wrote, “These findings have timely implications for research and intervention, particularly within sociopolitical and geographic contexts where news or media coverage about LGBTQ+ topics is intensified.”

Of the study’s 31 total participants, 22 were assigned female at birth, and 16 self-identified as transgender or gender diverse. It’s also worth noting that the study’s definition of news and media included social media, where anti-LGBTQ+ messages have flourished despite policies banning hate speech.

The study echoes a 2023 study by the Trevor Project which found that anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has negatively affected 66% of young LGBTQ+ people’s mental health.

“On top of a growing mental health crisis among the nation’s youth, we’re also negotiating an increasingly hostile political climate that has tragically placed LGBTQ young people at the center of a political wedge issue, which is having a detrimental toll on their mental health,” said Dr. Ronita Nath, vice president of research at the Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project survey found that LGBTQ+ young people who had access to affirming homes, schools, community events, and online spaces reported lower rates of suicidality and mental distress compared to those who didn’t.

The Trevor Project’s survey also found that rates of suicidality and mental distress among transgender and nonbinary young people declined among those who had their pronouns respected and those who had access to gender-neutral bathrooms and binders, shapewear, and gender-affirming clothing that help those with gender dysphoria to align the appearance of their body with their gender identity.

Editor’s note: This article mentions suicide. If you need to talk to someone now, call the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860. It’s staffed by trans people, for trans people. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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