Do You Think You’ll Ever Be 35 Years Old? — LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health

By Sassafras Lowrey

The latest report into the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth is showing a very concerning trend. This new study shows that a third of LGBTQ+ youth don’t think that they will live to the age of 35. This low life expectancy is especially common amongst youth experiencing multiple forms of marginalization, like transgender youth and LGBTQ+ youth of color. Now more than ever it’s important that regardless of our age we create a wraparound and supportive community/world where LGBTQ+ youth today and tomorrow see that there is a bright and long future.

Trevor Project Study

Unfortunately, although we have seen tremendous advancement in LGBTQ+ acceptance and rights in the last couple of decades, there is a significant amount of work to be done. A new study from The Trevor Project on LGBTQ+ youth mental health found that a third of LGBTQ+ youth say that they don’t think they will live past the age of 35. The LGBTQ+ youth mental health survey spoke with 28,000 LGBTQ+ youth aged 13–24 from across the United States.

The study found that youth who experience minority stress — specifically queer youth of color, trans youth, and multi-sex (bisexual and pansexual) youth were most likely to hold these beliefs about their low life expectancy because of the marginalization they face. Not being able to see a long future for yourself can also be tied to other mental health challenges. Youth who didn’t believe they would live to 35 reported higher rates of recent depression (77%) and anxiety (82%) compared to peers. These youth also reported higher rates of self-harm in the past year, suicide consideration, and suicide attempts compared to their peers. Important to note that suicide attempts in the past year in the study were found to consistently decrease as youth’s certainty of living to at least 35 increased.

The Impact of Homophobia/Transphobia

The mental health of LGBTQ youth is directly impacted by the current cultural political moment that we find ourselves in. Seeing homophobic and transphobic rhetoric being platformed by mainstream politicians, religious leaders, and community members has an impact on mental health. Youth are also witnessing discriminatory policies being enacted by school boards and sometimes hearing this same hateful message in their families. We know this kind of cultural/political violence has real impacts on LGBTQ+ mental health, especially for youth. The study also found that age matters when it comes to how impacted youth are by minority stress. Younger youth, defined as ages 13 to 17, generally reported having greater stressors when compared with older LGBTQ+ youth. Notably, researchers found when analyzing results of the survey that youth who predicted a high chance of living until, they were 35 years old had 80% lower odds of reporting a suicide attempt. There is a clear correlation with youth who believe they are going to grow up and suicidality.

Getting Support & Finding Queer Joy

If you are a feeling hopeless, anxious, depressed, or suicidal it’s important to know that you are not alone and to get support. Talk with any supportive adults in your life: family members, teachers, youth workers, counselors at school, therapists, and anyone else in your life who you trust. If you don’t feel like there’s anyone in your life who understands what you’re going through, there are hotlines there to help! Remember your matter, your life, and your future matters. Get support, connect with LGBTQ community when and where you can. Try to surround yourself with supportive people who help to fill you with hope. In addition to finding any of the mental health supports that you need, remember that you get to create the queer life that you dream of. Try to give yourself permission to get involved with community and do the things that bring your joy. It won’t always be easy, and life won’t always go the way that you think, but the world is a much more vibrant place with you in it.

About the Author

Sassafras Lowrey’s novels and nonfiction books have been honored by organizations ranging from the American Library Association to the Lambda Literary Foundation and the Dog Writers Association of America. Sassafras’ work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, and numerous other newspapers and magazines. Sassafras has taught queer writing courses and workshops at LitReactor, the NYC Center For Fiction and at colleges, conferences, and LGBTQ youth centers across the country. You can find more of Sassafras’ written works, including an edited collection exploring LGBTQ+ youth homelessness entitled Kicked Out, at www.SassafrasLowrey.com.