Black LGBTQ youth are less likely to receive mental health care than the general LGBTQ youth population despite reporting similar rates of depression and suicidal thoughts, according to a recent study.
The intersection of two identities — LGBTQ and black — makes these young people both more at risk of developing mental health problems and less likely to have access to adequate care, according to the study.
The finding, published in a brief released last week, is based on data from the inaugural National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, conducted last year by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth advocacy organization. It is the largest study on LGBTQ youth mental health ever conducted, with over 34,000 LGBTQ youth surveyed, and the results for black LGBTQ youth were compared with those of nonblack LGBTQ youth.
