A New Research by The Trevor Project examined the existing situation of substance abuse and suicide risks among LGBTQ+ young people. As it turns out, the challenges that the young people have to deal with result in increased substance abuse, deteriorated mental health state and higher suicide risk. According to experts, this new research is a positive step towards seeing the connection between substance abuse and mental health challenges. The accumulated data can help us take care of those around us and be more careful.
The link between mental health problems and the challenges faced by queer people has also been established by previous studies, but the information was mainly based on surveys of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth and did not cover gender identity issues, making it difficult to study the problem thoroughly. The 2021 survey that examined the mental health issues of American LGBTQ+ youth is much more inclusive.
“When we examine data among LGBTQ young people — whether we’re looking at substance use, mental health challenges, or any other experiences — we need to center the reality that this is an incredibly diverse group of youth. In particular, looking at gender diversity, we know that trans and non-binary youth experience disparate rates of suicide risk and other mental health challenges compared to their cisgender LGBQ peers,” said DeChants, who led the report for The Trevor Project’s research team.
The study interviewed 34,759 LGBTQ youth. 56% of young people consume alcohol and 47% of these people are under the age of 21, which is the legal age for alcohol consumption in the US. One-third of respondents use marijuana, including 29% who have not reached the age of 21. 11% of young people consume over-the-counter medications. In addition, 11% of respondents consume alcohol and marijuana regularly.
Young people with non-binary identities, assigned male gender at birth, have a much higher rate of regular marijuana use. They also studied how external factors and peer-pressure affect the rate of substance abuse. Young people that have participated in conversion therapy and LGBTQ+ people who have experienced physical abuse are much more likely to use substances on a regular basis.
Young people who take prescription drugs because of the difficulty of coping with mental health challenges are three times more likely to attempt suicide, alcohol users are 50% more likely to be at risk, and marijuana users are at a much higher risk.
Source: Healthline
Illustration: the Daily Beast
