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

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.

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: 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?

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.