More than 40 percent of Latino LGBTQ youths have contemplated suicide: survey

More than 40 percent of LGBTQ young people in the U.S. who are Latino reported having seriously considered suicide over the past year, according to research from The Trevor Project, a leading LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization.

In a survey of 28,000 LGBTQ youths ages 13-24, 44 percent of LGBTQ young people who are Latinx, the term used by The Trevor Project, said they had seriously considered suicide at some point in the last year. This includes 42 percent of Mexican and Puerto Rican LGBTQ youths and 38 percent of Cuban LGBTQ youths.

Another 16 percent — including 15 percent of Mexican and Puerto Rican LGBTQ youths and 9 percent of Cuban LGBTQ youths — said they had attempted suicide during the same time period, according to the Trevor Project report published Thursday.

Latinx transgender and nonbinary young people reported significantly higher rates of suicide compared to their cisgender peers, with more than half — 53 percent — reporting having seriously considered suicide, and 21 percent reporting a past-year suicide attempt, the report said.

Researchers said Thursday’s findings underscore the unique challenges and forms of victimization faced by the community, highlighting the connection between immigration concerns and mental health outcomes.

Ronita Nath, vice president of research at The Trevor Project, said the data emphasize the “critical and unmistakable need” to better invest in mental health resources that are culturally salient.

More than a third of LGBTQ young people who are Latino surveyed by The Trevor Project said they often worry about themselves or a family member facing detainment or deportation because of U.S. immigration policies.

Multiracial Latinx LGBTQ youths expressed lower levels of concern about immigration than their exclusively Latinx LGBTQ peers, according to Thursday’s report.

Recent immigration policies and rhetoric have heightened anti-immigration sentiments in the United States; border security and immigration issues dominated the second Republican presidential primary debate in September. Earlier that month, GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy said he would deport American-born children of undocumented immigrants as president.

The Biden administration this month announced it waived 26 federal laws to allow construction of a wall along the southern border in Starr County, Texas, which is experiencing “high illegal entry,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Latinx LGBTQ young people also face discrimination based on multiple identities, the report said.

More than half said they had faced discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and 39 percent said they were discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity.

Another 11 percent said they faced discrimination because of their immigration status.

But having multiple identities can also serve as a protective factor for Latinx LGBTQ youths, Thursday’s report found, and Latinx LGBTQ people who said their race or ethnicity is an important part of who they are had 24 percent lower odds of attempting suicide in the past year.