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“It’s clear that immigration fears and policies are having a tangible impact on the mental health and well-being of Latinx LGBTQ youth. To that end, suicide prevention initiatives must be mindful of these unique experiences and needs.”

NEW YORK (PRWEB)
September 24, 2020

Today, The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) youth, released new research that examines factors associated with attempting suicide among Latinx LGBTQ young people. The brief, “Latinx LGBTQ Youth Suicide Risk,” specifically underscores the impact of immigration-related fears on Latinx LGBTQ youth mental health.

Overall, Latinx LGBTQ youth were 30% more likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year compared to their non-Latinx LGBTQ peers. This higher risk of attempting suicide among Latinx LGBTQ youth compared to their LGBTQ peers can be explained by greater worries about themselves or family being detained or deported due to immigration policies. If you control for the impact of these immigration-related fears, the 30% increased risk of attempting suicide disappears.

Further, Latinx LGBTQ youth who frequently worry about themselves or a family member being detained or deported due to immigration policies were at double the risk of attempting suicide compared to Latinx LGBTQ youth who never worry about it.

Additional key findings include:

• Among Latinx LGBTQ youth, those who are transgender or nonbinary, struggling to meet basic needs, or under age 18 were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide.
• Latinx LGBTQ youth who completed the survey in Spanish rather than English were at 84% increased risk of attempting suicide in the past year.
• Having a parent born outside the U.S. was associated with a 40% increased odds of a suicide attempt for Latinx LGBTQ youth.

“Nearly half of Latinx LGBTQ youth reported being worried about themselves or their family being detained or deported — and these immigration-related worries were associated with a significantly increased risk for attempting suicide. It’s clear that immigration fears and policies are having a tangible impact on the mental health and well-being of Latinx LGBTQ youth. To that end, suicide prevention initiatives must be mindful of these unique experiences and needs,” said Dr. Amy Green, Director of Research for The Trevor Project. “The Trevor Project recognizes the impact that multiple forms of minority stress, including immigration fears, xenophobia, and racially-based discrimination, can have on LGBTQ youth mental health and is committed to providing safe and empathetic support across our 24/7 crisis services.”

The research brief references data from The Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, in which a diverse national sample of more than 40,000 LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13–24 in the United States was surveyed. The brief in its entirety can be found here.

If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or suicidal, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat http://www.TheTrevorProject.org/Help, or by texting START to 678678.

About The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world’s largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth, TrevorSpace. Trevor also operates an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, an advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and a research team to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.

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