State-level laws that restrict or threaten transgender rights can have significant negative effects on the mental health of transgender and non-binary young people, according to new research from The Trevor Project, a leading LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization.
In a study published Thursday in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Human Behavior, researchers from the Trevor Project looked at the causal relationship between anti-transgender laws and suicide risk from 2018 to 2022, concluding that such laws were associated with a significant increase in suicide attempts in the past year by transgender and non-binary young people.
During the five-year period the researchers studied, 19 states enacted 48 anti-transgender laws, ranging from restrictions on gender-affirming medical care and restrooms to restrictions on the ability of transgender student athletes to compete on sports teams that match their gender identity.
The findings showed that suicide attempts increased among all participants living in states that had enacted at least one anti-transgender law, with the highest increases in suicide attempt rates among participants ages 13 to 17, between 7% and 72%, which the researchers attributed to the fact that most policies target minors.
Across their sample of more than 61,000 transgender and nonbinary people between the ages of 13 and 24, researchers observed an increase of 38 percent to 44 percent.
Laws targeting transgender rights can exacerbate existing challenges and create new stressors that are harmful to the mental health of transgender and nonbinary young people, the researchers said. “Anti-transgender laws can signal broader societal rejection of their identities, sending the message that their identities and bodies are valid but not worthy of protection,” the researchers wrote in Thursday's study.
“From a scientific perspective, studying the phenomenon of how these policies affect the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth is relatively new,” said Dr. Ronita Nath, vice president of research at The Trevor Project. “This study provides the first conclusive evidence of a causal relationship between anti-transgender laws and increased suicide risk among transgender and non-binary young people.”
This year alone, state lawmakers have introduced at least 530 anti-LGBTQ bills. According to the ACLUHowever, most of them (343) did not become law. Most of the proposed bills targeted transgender youth, with about 80 bills seeking to restrict or ban gender-affirming medical care for minors. 59 bills would require school officials to inform transgender students of their coming out to their parents without their consent. 49 bills sought to bar transgender athletes from participating in school sports, and 38 bills sought to bar transgender students from using facilities consistent with their gender identity.
Of the 44 bills passed this year, the majority directly affect transgender youth.
Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate this session have introduced dozens of bills that seek to ban gender-affirming care, bar transgender women and girls from competing on girls' sports teams, and create a rigid definition of “sex” to exclude transgender and gender non-conforming people.
In July, Republican vice presidential candidate Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) introduced a Senate version of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) “Child Innocence Protection Act.” The bill would create a nationwide ban on gender-affirming medical treatment for minors. Medical practitioners who violate the law could be charged with a Class C felony and face up to 10 years in prison.
At the same time, rhetoric against transgender people, and LGBTQ people more broadly, has become increasingly hostile, and hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity bias have risen again in the United States last year, the FBI said Monday.
Previous research from The Trevor Project has already noted a link between anti-LGBTQ laws and young people's mental health: In a 2022 survey, two-thirds of LGBTQ young people said their mental health had worsened because of laws targeting transgender rights.
90% of LGBTQ youth The survey A report published in May by The Trevor Project said politics was having a negative impact on their well-being.
“There's no question that anti-transgender policies and the dangerous rhetoric surrounding them are causing immeasurable damage to the health and safety of transgender and non-binary young people across the country,” said James Black, who became CEO of The Trevor Project in July.
“These young people will continue to be in the political conversation as we approach the crucial election in November,” Black said. “I urge all adults, regardless of their political beliefs, to remember that transgender and non-binary young people are our family, our friends and our neighbors. We don't need to fully understand their experiences to acknowledge that they, like any other young person, deserve dignity, respect and the ability to live healthy, fulfilling lives.”
