Source
Summary
“Indigenous LGBTQ young people face numerous social threats that can harm their overall mental health and well-being, including the historical and ongoing impact of colonization and anti-LGBTQ sentiments. Despite this, significant gaps in research persist due to the underrepresentation of Indigenous young people in U.S. studies. The failure to obtain adequate sample sizes to examine the unique experiences of Indigenous LGBTQ young people perpetuates inequities and inhibits progress toward dismantling structural forces that continue to oppress them. This report uses data from a national sample of nearly 2,000 Indigenous LGBTQ young people aged 13 to 24 who participated in The Trevor Project’s 2023 National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People to contribute to our understanding of their mental health and well-being.
Key Findings:
Indigenous LGBTQ young people are diverse with respect to nation/tribe, sexuality, and gender.
• Of the 1,792 Indigenous LGBTQ young people in our sample, 26% identified as exclusively Indigenous and 74% identified as multiracial Indigenous.
• Just over a quarter (28%) of Indigenous LGBTQ young people reported that they identify as Two-Spirit, a term used in many tribal communities to describe those who embody diverse sexualities, genders, gender expressions, and/or gender roles in their community.
• Two-thirds (66%) of Indigenous LGBTQ young people self-identified as transgender or nonbinary.
Indigenous LGBTQ young people report higher rates of mental health challenges compared to other LGBTQ young people.
• Over three quarters of Indigenous LGBTQ young people (77%) reported recent symptoms of anxiety and 66% reported recent symptoms of depression.
• Over half of Indigenous LGBTQ young people (54%) reported seriously considering suicide in the past year, compared to 41% in the broader sample of LGBTQ young people.
• Nearly a quarter of Indigenous LGBTQ young people (23%) reported attempting suicide in the past year, compared to 14% among the overall sample of LGBTQ young people.
Indigenous LGBTQ young people experience disproportionate structural inequities, as well high rates of anti-LGBTQ stressors.
• Nearly one in ten Indigenous LGBTQ young people (8%) reported having been subjected to conversion therapy, and 70% reported experiencing an attempt to change their LGBTQ identity.
• Over a third of Indigenous LGBTQ young people (34%) reported past or current homelessness, which is more than double the rate of homelessness among their non-Indigenous LGBTQ peers.
• Nearly half of Indigenous LGBTQ young people (48%) reported experiencing food insecurity, compared to just under a third of non-Indigenous LGBTQ young people (30%).
Support from others is an important protective factor for Indigenous LGBTQ young people.
• Indigenous LGBTQ young people who reported high levels of support from their families had significantly lower rates of attempting suicide in the past year (13%), compared to their Indigenous LGBTQ peers who reported low levels of family support (24%).
• Indigenous transgender and nonbinary young people who reported that all of the people they live with respect their pronouns reported having attempted suicide in the past year at nearly half the rate of those who reported that none of the people they live with respect their pronouns (17% vs. 33%).”
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