Gender
STUDIES TAKE CLOSER LOOK AT MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES FOR LGBTQ YOUTH
April 24, 2018 | Emily Taylor
This news story summarizes results of a few recent studies looking at the instance of mental health challenges among LGBTQ youth. One study that examined medical records found mental health diagnoses were more common for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth. A second study
of survey data from almost 82,000 high school students in Minnesota found LGBTQ adolescents were more likely to experience abuse and victimization than heterosexual teens. Notably, the majority of youth didn’t experience any abuse, bullying or victimization.
In his commentary on the studies, Dr. Stanley Ray Vance of the Child and Adolescent Gender Center at the University of California, San Francisco noted: “It should be emphasized that LGBTQ youth are incredibly resilient, but they unfortunately face poor mental health outcomes and adversity. Their childhood environment and experiences matter and reducing rejection, abuse and other adverse events could potentially make a difference.”