The physical toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is tangible, though its impact on mental health is just starting to be understood—and this includes the mental health impact on LGBTQ youth. At baseline, LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide compared to their straight, cisgender peers, and it’s estimated that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ youth in the United States seriously consider suicide each year
Since the onset of the pandemic, the volume of youth reaching out to The Trevor Project crisis support has significantly increased—at times, it’s nearly double the pre-COVID volume. This is troubling, though not surprising.
Even prior to the COVID pandemic, LGBTQ youth were at significantly increased risk for depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts, largely due to increased experiences of victimization. According to the minority stress model, experiences of discrimination, rejection, stigma, and violence are compounded and can produce negative mental health outcomes. And further, LGBTQ youth already face disproportionately high rates of unemployment and homelessness. It’s clear, then, that the widespread anxiety, physical distancing, and economic strain caused by the pandemic have the potential to exacerbate these concerns and create new, unique problems for many LGBTQ youth.