Emotional Distress Among LGBTQ+ Youth

The Issues Facing LGBTQ+ Teens

When a child reaches the stage of adolescence, they face many factors that contribute to
their growth. Whether that is having a great support system from their family, making good
friends with their peers at school, and are well both physically and mentally. For adolescents
in the LGBTQ+ community, rather than go through the stages that every adolescent faces,
they have to encounter many struggles in their lives. Many LGBTQ+ youth deal with poor
mental health, bullying in their schools, homelessness, and family rejection when their
parents cannot accept them for their sexuality. It is essential to understand the risks and
protective factors associated with the LGBTQ+ youth so more prevention and intervention
strategies can be implemented to ensure that they are safe regardless of the circumstances
they will face in the future.
Mental health
Many studies and research have been conducted to find out the reason that contributes to
depression and anxiety is their poor mental health. People in the LGBTQ community
experience mental health issues at higher rates. A recent study found 61% have depression
and 36% have an anxiety disorder. Additionally, 40 percent of transgender individuals have
attempted suicide in their lifetime. This is nearly 9 times the overall rate in the United States.
There is no single answer for why these disparities exist. But stigma and trauma certainly
contribute. Many LGBTQ individuals face barriers to getting good care for mental health. A
Rainbow Health survey found 10% postponed care or didn’t get it at all due to disrespect or
discrimination from health care providers. And the U.S. transgender survey found the rate is
even higher among transgender individuals – with 23% not seeing a doctor due to fear of
mistreatment.
Therefore, they need to be able to live as they identify and be loved as they are. When they
have these things, they experience less stress and increase self-esteem. The findings show
that when they are able to accept our identity, they feel whole. This allows them to feel more
confident about who they are.
Bullying
Schools are supposed to be places where every child can feel safe, but that isn’t how
LGBT adolescents are feeling. Although there is a general decline in bullying, LGBT
adolescents are still affected by it. Research has shown that LGBT adolescents are being
bullied based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. These
researches are showing how LGBT adolescents don’t feel safe at their schools because of the
growing rate of peer victimization they experience. Over 85% of LGBT youth experience
bullying and harassment within their schools. Bullying is affecting these adolescents in so
many ways especially when it comes to their psychological well-being. LGBT adolescents
who are bullied deal with depression as well as low-self-esteem. They also suffer from lower
academic achievement. Schools need to find more ways to prevent these LGBT students from
dropping out of school or deal with the negative outcomes that come with peer victimization.
Anti-bullying campaigns need to have more support not only from students, but from the
administration as well as the teachers, so these LGBT adolescents can know that they have
allies and support within their educational environment. Even though these LGBT
adolescents continue to experience bullying and less positive experiences at school, it is
important to note that supportive social networks in schools need to be implemented to
improve school experiences. LGBT students now are talking more to their teachers and peers
for support than ever before and found that the presence of having extracurricular activities
like GSAs create positive impacts for these adolescents’ future. More research also needs to
be conducted in finding more ways to ensure these LGBT students are taken care of when
dealing with peer victimization so that they can be able to thrive and succeed without
worrying about their bullies and the harassment they’ll face.
Family Rejection
In adolescence, the family is a big aspect of one’s life. LGBT youth who are rejected by
their families are more likely to experience negative impacts like suicide attempts, being
depressed, as well as engage in risky behavior. It all depends on whether members of the
family specifically the parents would affirm or reject their child’s sexuality or gender
identity. When it comes to family acceptance it in a way shields LGBT youth from
experiencing all the negative impacts they would experience if rejected. One study that had
about 491 LGBT adolescents in the United States, showed that family acceptance and
support had a positive impact on one’s self-acceptance and well-being. Another study that
had about 245 LGBT adolescents found that if they are accepted, they would have better
social support, greater self-esteem, and be less affected by mental distress. One of the key
factors why many families tend to reject their children is because of their religion. Rather
than support or be there for their child, these parents would instead kick them out and never
speak to them again and pretend as if they never existed. Because of family rejection, these
adolescents would experience negative impacts that would affect them for the rest of their
lives, one of them being homelessness as well as substance abuse. Even though families
typically reject LGBT adolescents, these adolescents can still create their own support system
whether it is by friends or by their community. Many families need programs catered to
learning about how they can support their children rather than reject them for being who they
are. Family rejection is a predictor of negative outcomes, but creating programs that have
counseling, support groups, and even classes where these families can learn more about the
LGBT community, would decrease the likelihood of family rejection and increase support.
Conclusion
Much has been learned in the past decade to advance understanding of LGBT youth
mental health. Societal changes have led to legal, policy, and structural changes, most of
which will ultimately improve the lives and mental health of LGBT youth. Across fields and
professions, everyone can be advocated for the legal, policy, program, and clinical changes
that promise to improve mental health for LGBT youth.