Queer Latinx Youth Are Reporting Suicide Attempts at an Alarming Rate — Here's Why

Published on Sep 29, 2020 at 5:20 PM

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The short answer is, because our struggles are particular and compounded by one another.

A new study found that queer Latinx youth were 30 percent more likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year than non-Latinx queer youth. In a survey of 4,114 self-identified Hispanic or Latinx youth between the ages of 13 and 24, including 525 who completed the survey in Spanish, that 30 percent heightened risk was attributed to a single factor: immigration-related fears.

"It points to why we need to look more intersectionally at risk," said Amy Green, PhD, director of research at The Trevor Project, who led the study. But it's not that simple. "If we just say, 'Latinx youth are at [an] increased risk,' we don't really have a good way to address how to bring that down. But if there are policies in place that are causing fear, that are causing worries that are increasing their risk? That's the place that we need to obviously impact policy and [make] change."

Consider this. To be HIV positive in the US is to rely on a lifelong regimen of antiretrovirals in a country that denies universal healthcare to its citizens and essentially ties healthcare to employment. To be HIV positive and Latinx is to rely on the same regimen, only from the disadvantage of having systemically less access to that healthcare system to begin with, plus the highest unemployment rate of any racial and ethnic group in the US.

To be an undocumented person of color in the US is to live in a perpetual state of fear over being deported. To be undocumented and a trans woman of color is to face, too, the harsh realities of job insecurity, housing insecurity, a shockingly high risk of aggravated assault — the list goes on.

This is all to say, no one lives in a vacuum: the personal is political. If we care about the welfare of others, it's vital we understand inequity as the product of systems of power that work deliberately and in tandem. Intersectionality teaches us that the interplay of sexuality and gender, race, and class, for example, creates distinct fault lines. So when kids know that our people are kept in cages at the border, no wonder they worry over themselves or their families being detained or deported. When they know that there's no justice for Breonna Taylor, no wonder they feel hopeless. When they know firsthand that a lot of public policy boils down to racism, classism, and other -isms, no wonder it amounts to a public health crisis.

Before this study, very little was known about suicide rates specifically in Latinx youth who identify as queer. Today, we know enough to act on what we do know. As a queer Latinx kid who came out on the other side relatively unscathed, I want you to know: we see you, we need you, and we are here for you. I can say it gets better, but platitudes aside, we will demand and work toward better for you. In the meantime, The Trevor Project is an increasingly vital resource and partner in that work. On a three-way call with POPSUGAR, Dr. Green and The Trevor Project Press Secretary Rob Todaro discussed the study's findings and work that's yet to be done.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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POPSUGAR: Tell me about this new research brief.

Dr. Amy Green: So, this brief is focused on the Latinx youth from our 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. We looked specifically at the needs of LGBTQ Latinx youth as they relate to suicide risk, as well as factors that place LGBTQ youth who are at risk.

The first finding is that, overall, Latinx LGBTQ youth were 30 percent more likely to report attempting suicide in the past year, and those who were trans and nonbinary Latinx youth were at more than double the risk. So we see that increased risk. But then we looked at what factors might be impacting this, and we had a question that asked youth whether or not they had worried about themselves or a family member being detained or reported due to immigration concerns. When we factored that into the equation, that increased risk went away. So they were no longer 30 percent more likely — they were, in fact, equi-likely.

The sad part is, LGBTQ youth in general are four times more likely to attempt suicide compared to straight, cisgender peers. But we do know that that factor, immigration concerns, is really impacting the increased risk for Latinx youth.

PS: Was that the result you expected? I mean, I was shocked reading this, that immigration concerns account for and could completely eliminate that 30 percent.

"It points to why we need to look more intersectionally at risk."

AG: No, I wasn't expecting that. Our research scientist who looked at the paper with me — when I sent it to her, I said, "Look at this, I found something that's pretty striking" — was floored. You don't usually see something that completely eliminates risk. You usually see it reduces it a little bit. But the fact that putting one additional variable in, and that was the concerns about immigration, eliminated the fact that they were at risk? It points to why we need to look more intersectionally at risk. If we just say, "Latinx youth are at [an] increased risk," we don't really have a good way to address how to bring that down. But if there are policies in place that are causing fear, that are causing worries, that are increasing their risk? That's the place that we need to obviously impact policy and [make] change.

PS: I know not much was known before this week — not in a hard-and-fast way — about Latinx youth's susceptibility to attempt suicide independent of non-Latinxs. That makes these findings relatively groundbreaking. Do you think this brief could change people's understanding of how to approach suicide prevention in the queer community, making it more accessible, perhaps?

"If we don't look at concerns of Latinx youth, and we don't look at concerns of trans and nonbinary youth, we're missing the key factors to address suicide prevention for those youth."

AG: I hope so. I hope that when folks see the results of this particular brief, that they realize we need to be looking intersectionally within the community, and that we can't just look at risk as one common thing that occurs. Yes, all LGBTQ youth have increased risk. But there are certain subsets of youth who may have — for example, trans and nonbinary youth are consistently at a higher risk of attempting suicide. And some of those factors are related to things like rejection of their gender, people misgendering them, not using consistent pronouns. And so, if we don't look at concerns of Latinx youth, and we don't look at concerns of trans and nonbinary youth, we're missing the key factors to address suicide prevention for those youth.

PS: This is a question I maybe could have answered myself, but are there Trevor initiatives that are directly targeted to Spanish speakers?

AG: Currently, it's an area that we're working on. Our services for crisis services right now are only targeted at those who speak English. We are working on expanding that, and that's one of the goals of our strategic plan in the future. But we do have something called TrevorSpace, which is a peer support system that is designed to help youth around the world connect to each other.

And then we also have our crisis counselors, who are trained to understand the unique needs of diverse populations, and that includes Latinx LGBTQ youth [and] Black LGBTQ youth. And part of that [effort] is this type of research that we're able to do, so we can show these findings and we can say, look: there are concerns related to immigration, there are concerns related to acculturation that we have to consider when we work with these youth, to make sure that we're not further stigmatizing youth who are in crisis, who are coming to us looking for support.

And so there's definitely The Trevor Project focusing on making sure that our services are not just LGBTQ competent but are able to meet the needs of diverse subgroups of LGBTQ youth that includes Latinx youth, which includes Black youth, which includes trans and nonbinary youth.

PS: For someone reading this, thinking, "30 percent, that feels very high," does that sound very high to you?

AG: In a sense, if you look at the percentages of increase, then we do see that 30 percent. But you're talking in the percentiles. If you look at the percentages, while they're high, the 30 percent [is] the difference between 17 percent and 14 percent. And so, in some ways, folks can say, "Well, you're looking at 17 percent that have attempted suicide vs. 14 percent" — that's a 30 percent increase. Each one of those is a life, of a youth. So any type of increased risk is significant.

PS: Does The Trevor Project have similar information about the risk associated with being Black and LGBTQ and how that affects suicide prevention?

AG: So, that is the next report that's coming out . . . We do have a large report led by our research scientist Myeshia Price-Feeney, who has put together what should be the largest source to date of research on Black LGBTQ youth, coming out next.

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PS: A lot of digital media outlets will include resources at the end of stories that may be considered triggering that, in hindsight, might not be suited to serve queer people or be accessible to non-English speakers. What's a Trevor resource for someone who's reading this and wants to learn more?

"We are going to be releasing a number of our resources in Spanish in the coming weeks to cap off Latinx Heritage Month."

AG: I would recommend TrevorSpace as the place where folks could go if they are looking for other LGBTQ youth under the age of 25 to connect with. Rob, do you recall which of our guides are available in Spanish language as well?

Rob Todaro: So, that's a great question. We have a resource around having conversations around the intersections of LGBTQ identity and race and ethnicity, and that was translated to Spanish. We are going to be releasing a number of our resources in Spanish in the coming weeks to cap off Latinx Heritage Month.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgment-free place to talk, call the TrevorLifeline now at 1-866-488-7386. Or click here for TrevorChat, TrevorText, TrevorSpace, and more.