There are many stresses that come with being a teenager + teenager: Fear, isolation, bullying, feeling like the world hates you, loved ones pressuring you to change.
Those facts are the first to look at the findings of an ongoing study by the Trevor Project to track the mental health of nearly 1,700 teenagers in the US over time.
Investigators from the West HOLLYWOOD-based anpofit-base increased the severity of mental stress among participants. Over the course of one year, the proportion of participants reporting symptoms of anxiety increased from 57% to 68%.
As the political rhetoric of the past few years has boiled down to issues such as teaching about LGBTQ + care in schools, the share of young people who say they will be experiencing symptoms of depression rose from 48% to 54%. Those reporting having suicidal thoughts went from 41% to 47%.
Transgender and nonbinary youth were almost twice as likely to struggle with anxiety and suicidal thoughts than their peers — a pattern that held up during the first year of data collection among participants in this group.
“This allows us to write clearly and without any doubt what we know to be true: the way in which the LGBTQ + short is being treated in this country is damaging its life and putting the worst, and it is getting worse,” said Crevor Project Center, “Trevor Project Center Jaymes Black in a statement.
Even in California, a state considered a transit point, the climate seems to be changing. In a surprising departure from an elected official who has announced support for the Trans community, Gov. Gavin Newlom recently revealed 12 funds that would require months of hormone therapy for California patients, cost concerns.
Another surprising finding in the study: An increase in the proportion of young people who say they are under pressure from treatment, their “counseling process,” has removed their same-sex identity, and changed their same-sex identity.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness calls for conversion therapy that is “degrading, discriminatory, discriminatory, and harmful,” and supports the practice of practicing, not improving, the mental health of those who work with it. California became the first state to ban the practice in 2012.
But reports of intimidation by the changing treatment doubled in the first year of tracking, with 22 percent of some respondents saying they had received this intimidation, up from 11% at the start of the study. The percentage of those who said they would be open to some form of treatment increased by 9% to 15%.
The finding comes as the Supreme Court hears arguments in one of the most watched cases of its current term. In Chiles vs Salazar, Christian counsel argued that Colorado’s ban on approved LGBTQ+ treatment violated his free speech rights in voluntary, questionable treatment facilities. Members of the conservative Supreme Court, which won a victory earlier this year that overturned Tennessee’s ban on sex services for minors, publicly questioned the Colorado Bab’s ban in a ruling this week. The court’s decision is expected to rule when its session ends in June.
“Many people believe that it is a race of the past, but the data shows that these dangerous practices are still happening,” said Dr. Ronita Nath, Project President of the Trevor Project in the study. He added that threats of medical exposure contributed to future depression and suicidal thoughts among study participants.
The investigators began recruiting in September 2023. Each participant completed a mental health survey every six months after joining the study.
It is the first time that the Trevor Project has looked at changes in the mental health of young people over a long period of time. Nath said this kind of Good Study, Distance Learning is important for public health providers and policy makers alike because it provides new evidence of causal connections — such as pressure on health care reform services — and future disasters.
“Social and structural factors drive these mental health outcomes, not just sequentially,” Nath said.
The study revealed some hints: The percentage of LGBTQ + youth who reported feeling supported at school rose from 53% to 58% during the first year. Also, 73 participants said they sought help from friends, up from 45% at the beginning of the first year.
Many study participants, however, said they avoid seeking care because they can’t afford it or because they worry they will be stigmatized for having a mental health problem.
Only 60% of respondents said they had access to mental health services by the end of their first year in the study, down from 80% at the start of their follow-up.
On the other hand, 75% of those who received counseling in their first year in the study said they benefited from it, up from 61% at the beginning.
The proportion of young people who said they had sought help for suicidal episodes doubled to 64% during that time, however, pointing to a growing level of depressed youth.
