Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies: Breaking down the data.

What does the 2025 U.S. National Survey say about anti-LGBTQ+ policies and their impact on LGBTQ+ young people?

The Trevor Project’s 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People analyzed the experiences of more than 16,000 LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 to 24 across the United States (U.S.). The survey covers an array of risk factors, protective factors, and day-to-day experiences that impact LGBTQ+ young people’s mental health and well-being. This blog post offers a deeper dive into the data, including a breakdown of what the 2025 U.S. National Survey reveals about anti-LGBTQ+ policies and their impact on the mental health and experiences of LGBTQ+ young people.

What are anti-LGBTQ+ policies?

Anti-LGBTQ+ policies can include laws, regulations, institutional practices, and political actions that restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people.^1,2 Anti-LGBTQ+ policies exist at institutional, local, state, and national levels and can shape how LGBTQ+ people are able to participate in daily life. Often, these policies also create social and cultural impacts, as they may influence people’s views on the LGBTQ+ community, affect the safety of LGBTQ+ individuals, and determine how resources to support LGBTQ+ people are allocated.

What is the current state of anti-LGBTQ+ policies in the U.S.?

In the past few years, there has been a major increase in the volume of anti-LGBTQ+ policies across the U.S., with the ACLU tracking over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills considered so far in 2026 alone, as of May 2026.¹ These anti-LGBTQ+policies frequently include, but are not limited to: restricting discussion of LGBTQ+ topics or supporting LGBTQ+ young people in schools, increasing barriers to adoption or marriage for LGBTQ+ people, and reducing discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people. In particular, there has been an increased focus on policies that impact transgender and nonbinary young people.^1-3 These policies are most frequently designed to limit access to health care, prevent individuals from updating their identification documents to match their gender identity, restrict access to restrooms, and prohibit participation in school and professional sports for transgender and nonbinary youth.

How do anti-LGBTQ+ policies impact the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people?

Anti-LGBTQ+ policies areassociated with poorer mental health outcomes and greater suicide risk among LGBTQ+ young people.^4,5 Even when individuals are not directly impacted by a given anti-LGBTQ+ policy, simply being exposed to media about anti-LGBTQ+ policy is still linked to greater minority stress and poor mental health.^6,7 New research from The Trevor Project’s 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People found additional evidence on how anti-LGBTQ+ policies are impacting the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people. When asked about how recent LGBTQ+-related policies, laws, and debates affected them:

• 90% of LGBTQ+ young people said that it caused them stress or anxiety,
• Nearly 8 in 10 LGBTQ+ young people (78%) said these policies made them feel unsafe, including 86% of TGNB young people. 
• Over 7 in 10 LGBTQ+ young people (76%) said these policies negatively impacted their mental health, including 83% of TGNB young people.
• Over three in 10 (32%) LGBTQ+ young people said these policies made them or their family consider moving to a different state, including 38% of TGNB young people.
• Nearly a quarter (23%) of LGBTQ+ young people said these policies made them feel unsafe going to a doctor or hospital, including 29% of TGNB young people.

LGBTQ+ young people also told us how rhetoric and language affected them in the past-year:

• More than 8 in 10 LGBTQ+ young people (83%) said they noticed harmful rhetoric around LGBTQ+ people, including 86% of TGNB young people.
• More than 7 in 10 LGBTQ+ young people (72%) said they encountered derogatory terms or expressions about their identity, including 76% of TGNB young people.
• Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) LGBTQ+ young people heard language that made them feel unsafe or unwelcome, including 74% ofTGNB young people.
• Conversely, nearly 8 in 10 LGBTQ+ young people (78%) also said they had heard supportive language about their identity, including 81% of TGNB young people.

How can you stay informed?

Many LGBTQ+ young people are already knowledgeable about and motivated to engage with political issues that affect their lives.⁸ People stay informed by being civically engaged, attending local events, volunteering, and connecting individually or in community with others. However, we also know that awareness of and involvement with political issues can be related to stress, burnout, and poorer mental health.^6,8,9 Remaining informed and connected to relevant social issues is important, but so is practicing self-care, establishing boundaries, and relying on supportive relationships and community spaces. 

For more information about LGBTQ+ policy and its impacts, check out our research on Civic Engagement, Political Concerns, and Mental Health among LGBTQ+ Young People,

How State Policy Affects the Well-Being and Relocation of LGBTQ+ Young People, Anti-Bullying Policies in School and LGBTQ+ Young People, and The Impact of Anti-Trans Laws on Trans & Nonbinary Youth. Additionally, for tips on how to care for yourself while getting involved as an advocate, review our guide on Navigating Personal Safety while Taking Action as an LGBTQ+ Young Person.

References

1. American Civil Liberties Union (2026, May 15). Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures in 2026. Available at: https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2026 (accessed 26 May 2026).
2. Human Rights Campaign (2023, May 23). Roundup of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Advancing In States Across the Country. Available at: https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/roundup-of-anti-lgbtq-legislation-advancing-in-states-across-the-country (accessed 26 May 2026).
3. Movement Advancement Project. (2026, May 26). Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth. Available at: https://mapresearch.org/equality-map/bans-on-best-practice-medical-care-for-transgender-youth/ (accessed 26 May 2026).
4. Gorse, M. (2022). Risk and Protective Factors to LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide: A Review of the Literature. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 39(1), 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00710-3 
5. Lee, W. Y., Hobbs, J. N., Hobaica, S., DeChants, J. P., Price, M. N., & Nath, R. (2024). State-level anti-transgender laws increase past-year suicide attempts among transgender and non-binary young people in the USA. Nature Human Behaviour, 8(11), 2096-2106. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01979-5 
6. Gonzales, G., & McKay, T. (2024). Negative LGBTQ+ news media means bad news for LGBTQ+ young adult mental health. JAMA Pediatrics, 178(11), 1101-1103. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.3130
7. Ramos, N., Burgess, A., & Ollen, E. (2022). The Current Status of Sociopolitical and Legal Issues Faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Youth. Adolescent Psychiatry, 12(3), 180-195. https://doi.org/10.2174/2210676611666211105120645 
8. The Trevor Project (2025). Civic Engagement, Political Concerns, and Mental Health among LGBTQ+ Young People. https://doi.org/10.70226/RYWX6880 
9. Chen, C. W., & Gorski, P. C. (2015). Burnout in social justice and human rights activists: Symptoms, causes and implications. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 7(3), 366-390. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huv011