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.
