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The Intersectionality of Discrimination and the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People of Color

LGBTQ+ young people of color who reported experiencing both SOGI-based discrimination and race/ethnicity-based discrimination had higher odds of considering and attempting suicide in the past year.
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Key Findings

  • 64% of LGBTQ+ young people of color who experienced racial discrimination also experienced SOGI-based discrimination in the past year.
  • Middle Eastern/North African LGBTQ+ young people and Black/African-American LGBTQ+ young people were more likely to report experiencing both SOGI-based discrimination and race/ethnicity-based discrimination than young people of other races/ethnicities (32% and 29%, respectively). 
  • Experiencing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or race/ethnicity was associated with increased odds of anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts.

Background

LGBTQ+ young people navigate stressors related to their LGBTQ+ identity, including discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI). Experiencing minority stressors like SOGI-based discrimination has a deleterious impact on LGBTQ+ young people’s mental health. Recent research found that experiences of anti-LGBTQ+ victimization are common among LGBTQ+ young people, and that this victimization is an important risk factor for suicide and self-harm in LGBTQ+ young people.1-3 SOGI-based discrimination specifically has been found to be associated with poor mental health, including depression, self-harm, and suicide attempts in LGBTQ+ young people.4,5

LGBTQ+ young people of color navigate a world that stigmatizes not only their LGBTQ+ identity but also their racial/ethnic identity. Being positioned at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities creates unique challenges and risks for LGBTQ+ young people of color as they navigate racism in LGBTQ+ spaces and experience anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments within their racial/ethnic communities.6 Unfortunately, these experiences of discrimination are common. In a 2024 report on the well-being of Black LGBTQ+ youth, 62% of Black LGBTQ+ young people said that they feared experiencing discrimination because of their LGBTQ+ identity.7 When LGBTQ+ young people of color experience discrimination and victimization, we see increases in depressive symptoms and suicide risk.8

Although prior research has documented the mental health impacts of SOGI-based discrimination and race/ethnicity-based discrimination separately, fewer studies have examined how these forms of discrimination co-occur among LGBTQ+ people of color. An intersectional framework suggests that these forms of discrimination may not operate in isolation, but instead may shape mental health through overlapping systems of stigma.  To this end, this brief uses data from The Trevor Project’s 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People to examine associations between multiple types of discrimination and their effect on mental health and suicide risk among LGBTQ+ young people of color.

Results

Demographics
Thirty-six percent of surveyed LGBTQ+ young people (n=5,845) identified as a person of color. Among these LGBTQ+ young people of color, 32% reported experiencing race/ethnicity-based discrimination in the past year, 44% reported experiencing SOGI-based discrimination in the past year, and 20% reported experiencing both SOGI-based discrimination and race/ethnicity-based discrimination in the past year. We observed significant variance in the experiences of SOGI-based discrimination and race/ethnicity-based discrimination across demographic groups of LGBTQ+ young people of color. This specific information is available in the Data Tables. 

Among LGBTQ+ young people of color who experienced SOGI-based discrimination, 46% also reported experiencing race/ethnicity-based discrimination. Alternatively, among those who experienced race/ethnicity-based discrimination, 64% reported also experiencing SOGI-based discrimination. Middle Eastern/North African LGBTQ+ young people and Black/African-American LGBTQ+ young people were more likely to report experiencing both SOGI-based discrimination and race/ethnicity-based discrimination than young people of other races/ethnicities (32% and 29%, respectively). LGBTQ+ young people of color who were just able to meet their basic needs were more likely to report experiencing both SOGI-based discrimination and race/ethnicity-based discrimination than those who were able to meet more than just their basic needs (27% vs. 18%). By sexual orientation, heterosexual transgender young people of color reported the highest rates of experiencing both SOGI-based discrimination and race/ethnicity-based discrimination (28%). By gender identity, nonbinary young people of color and cisgender boys/men of color were more likely to report experiencing both SOGI-based and race/ethnicity-based discrimination than young people of other gender identities (22% each).

Experiences of Discrimination and Suicide Risk among LGBTQ+ Young People of Color chart

Discrimination and Mental Health
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity was associated with increased odds of recent depression (adjusted odds ratio[aOR]=1.36, 95% CI:1.20-1.54, p<.001)  and increased odds of recent anxiety (aOR=1.52, 95% CI:1.34-1.73, p<.001). Discrimination on the basis of race/ethnicity was also associated with 34% higher odds of recent depression (aOR=1.34, 95% CI:1.17-1.53, p<.001) and 37% higher odds of recent anxiety (aOR=1.37, 95% CI:1.19-1.57, p<.001). LGBTQ+ young people who experienced discrimination on both the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity and on the basis of their racial/ethnic identity had 54% higher odds of recent depression (aOR=1.54, 95%CI:1.34-1.78) and 73% higher odds of recent anxiety (aOR=1.73, 95% CI:1.48-2.01).

Discrimination and Suicide Risk
The associations between SOGI-based discrimination, racial/ethnic discrimination, and suicide ideation and attempts were not independent. The interaction term between the two types of discrimination was statistically significant for these models, meaning that the association between SOGI-based discrimination and suicide risk differed depending on whether LGBTQ+ young people also experienced racial/ethnic discrimination.

SOGI-based discrimination was associated with increased odds of seriously considering suicide in the past year (aOR=2.09, 95% CI:1.79-2.44, p<.001), as was racial/ethnic-based discrimination (aOR=1.76, 95% CI:1.44-2.16, p<.001). When LGBTQ+ young people of color experienced both, they had greater odds of a considering suicide in the past year (aOR = 2.68, 95% CI: 1.44, 4.97, p<.05). Similarly, SOGI-based discrimination was associated with an increased odds of attempting suicide in the past year (aOR=3.06, 95% CI:2.41-3.89, p<.001), as was racial/ethnic discrimination (aOR=2.32, 95% CI: 1.71, 3.14). When LGBTQ+ young people of color experienced both, they had greater odds of a past-year suicide attempt (aOR = 4.81, 95% CI: 1.92, 12.01, p<.05). Though experiencing both SOGI and racial/ethnic discrimination greatly increases odds of suicide ideation and attempts, their combined association was smaller than would be expected if they operated independently.

Looking Ahead

Experiences of discrimination varied across groups of LGBTQ+ young people of color. Those who were unable to meet their basic needs were consistently more likely to endorse experiencing discrimination in the past year. This finding aligns with other research documenting the compounding impacts of discrimination, socioeconomic status, and mental health for LGBTQ+ people of color.9-11 This points to the possibility of structural factors interplaying with minority-specific stressors, and potentially increasing LGBTQ+ young people of color’s vulnerability to discrimination. For example, LGBTQ+ young people struggling to meet their basic economic needs may be more vulnerable to discrimination through interactions with institutions like schools, hospitals, shelters, or the police.

Experiencing SOGI-based discrimination and racial/ethnic discrimination were each  associated with increased odds of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts for LGBTQ+ young people of color. However, our findings tell us that when LGBTQ+ young people of color are exposed to both SOGI-based discrimination and racial/ethnic discrimination, these experiences compound, and LGBTQ+ young people of color face increased suicide risk. When LGBTQ+ young people of color did not experience any discrimination in the past year, their suicide attempt rate was 6%; however, that rate climbed to 15% when LGBTQ+ young people of color experienced at least one of those forms of discrimination, and then increased to 24% when they experienced both SOGI-based discrimination and racial/ethnic discrimination. This sharp increase in suicide risk suggests that experiencing multiple forms of discrimination may influence mental health in a way that is distinct from when these experiences occur separately.

Although the concept is still newer in the scientific literature, intersectional support represents a unique and novel approach to understanding the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people of color. Though existing at the intersections of marginalized identities does often result in increased vulnerabilities, it may also facilitate multiple resources and communities for support.12 Having access to multiple communities that understand and affirm a young person’s sexual orientation/gender identity and their racial/ethnic identity may be able to offer some protection against adverse mental health. Our findings also suggest that despite the large associations between SOGI-based discrimination and racial/ethnic discrimination independently, when these experiences occur concurrently, the impact on mental health is slightly weaker than we might expect when examining these effects independently.

We see this intersectional support in practice in LGBTQ+ communities of color. Historical examples include how House/Ballroom communities, which are chosen-family networks and performance communities rooted in Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities and cultures, have provided young Black LGBTQ+ people with support and used that support as a mechanism to enhance HIV prevention efforts.13  Researchers have been able to work with communities to extend this support and harness its power for other forms of health promotion. For example, members of Black House Ball communities worked with community researchers to mobilize Black and brown LGBTQ+ people to engage in vaccination against COVID-19.14 Moving forward, researchers should examine not just intersectional risk, but also intersectional support and how similar frameworks can be applied to suicide prevention efforts. Research questions should ask questions about how the salience of minority identities, additive, and multiplicative effects of support from various communities work together to influence the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people of color.

While we work together to harness the power of intersectional support, there are things you can do to support the LGBTQ+ young people of color in your life. To learn more about LGBTQ+ young people of color and their mental health, and how you can help support them, check out these resources from The Trevor Project: American Indian/Alaskan Native Youth Suicide Risk, Black and LGBTQ+: Approaching Intersectional Conversations, Middle Eastern and Northern African LGBTQ+ Young People, Latinx LGBTQ Youth Suicide Risk and Friends, Family, and Community: Social Support and the Health of Transgender and Nonbinary Young People of Color.

Data Tables

Demographic Characteristics of LGBTQ+ Young People of Color Who Experienced Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity

Demographic Characteristics of LGBTQ+ Young People of Color Who Experienced Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity table


Demographic Characteristics of LGBTQ+ Young People of Color Who Experienced Discrimination Based on Race, Ethnicity, or National Origin

Demographic Characteristics of LGBTQ+ Young People of Color Who Experienced Discrimination Based on Race, Ethnicity, or National Origin table

Methods

Sample
Data were collected through The Trevor Project’s 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People. A total of 16,667 LGBTQ+ young people between the ages of 13 to 24 who were recruited via ads on social media. This brief utilizes data from 5,668 LGBTQ+ young people of color (i.e., a race/ethnicity other than White).

Measures
Demographics (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and census region), were assessed by asking participants to select a response from a provided list of answers (Nath et al., 2026). SOGI-based discrimination was assessed using two items. The first asked all participants “In the past 12 months, have you experienced discrimination because of your sexual orientation?” with response options including ‘No,’ ‘Yes,’ and ‘Decline to answer.’ The second item, which was only asked of participants who identified as transgender or nonbinary, asked participants “In the past 12 months, have you experienced discrimination because of your gender identity?” with response options including ‘No,’ ‘Yes,’ and ‘Decline to answer.’ These two items were combined to create a single variable representing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in the past 12 months.  Racial/ethnic discrimination was assessed by asking participants “In the past 12 months, have you experienced discrimination because of your race, ethnicity, or national origin?” with response options including ‘No,’ ‘Yes,’ or ‘Decline to answer.’ Symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed using PHQ-2 and GAD-2, respectively.15,16 Past-year suicidal ideation and past-year suicide attempt were assessed using items from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey.17

Analysis
Chi-square tests were used to examine differences between groups. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations between variables. A product term for SOGI-based discrimination and racial/ethnic discrimination was added to models to explore the possibility of an interaction effect. This effect was statistically significant for the suicide ideation and attempts models, and subsequently probed in order to calculate main and interactive effects; these effects were exponentiated as odds ratios for ease of interpretation. Unless otherwise noted, all analyses are statistically significant at p<0.05, meaning reported differences would be expected to arise in analysis less than 5% of the time if there were no true difference (i.e., the null hypothesis should not have been rejected). Percentages in tables may not add up to 100 because of rounding.

References

  2. 1. De Lange, J., Baams, L., van Bergen, D. D., Bos, H. M., & Bosker, R. J. (2022). Minority stress and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among LGBT adolescents and young adults: A meta-analysis. LGBT Health, 9(4), 222-237. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2021.0106

    2. Nath, R., Matthews, D.D., Hobaica, S., DeChants, J.P., Eden, T.M., Taylor, A.B., & Suffredini, K. (2026). 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People. West Hollywood, California: The Trevor Project. https://doi.org/10.70226/EKGT3197 

    3. Williams, A. J., Jones, C., Arcelus, J., Townsend, E., Lazaridou, A., & Michail, M. (2021). A systematic review and meta-analysis of victimisation and mental health prevalence among LGBTQ+ young people with experiences of self-harm and suicide. PloS one, 16(1), e0245268. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245268 

    4. Busby, D. R., Horwitz, A. G., Zheng, K., Eisenberg, D., Harper, G. W., Albucher, R. C., Roberts, L.W., Coryell, W., Pistorello, J., & King, C. A. (2020). Suicide risk among gender and sexual minority college students: The roles of victimization, discrimination, connectedness, and identity affirmation. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 121, 182-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.11.013

    5. Chang, C. J., Feinstein, B. A., Meanley, S., Flores, D. D., & Watson, R. J. (2021). The role of LGBTQ identity pride in the associations among discrimination, social support, and depression in a sample of LGBTQ adolescents. Annals of LGBTQ Public and Population Health, 2(3), 203-219. https://doi.org/10.1891/LGBTQ-2021-0020

    6. Ream, G.L. (2024). Minority Stress and Intersectionality in LGBTQIA+ Youth Mental Health Disparities. American Journal of Public Health, 114, 669-671.  https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307676

    7. Human Rights Campaign (2024). 2024 Black LGBTQ+ Youth Report. https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2024-Black-LGBTQ-Youth-Report.cleaned.pdf 

    8. Mallory, A.B., & Russell, S.T. (2021). Intersections of Racial Discrimination and LGB Victimization for Mental Health: A Prospective Study of Sexual Minority Youth of Color. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50, 1353–1368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01443-x

    9. Budge, S. L., Thai, J. L., Tebbe, E. A., & Howard, K. A. S. (2016). The Intersection of Race, Sexual Orientation, Socioeconomic Status, Trans Identity, and Mental Health Outcomes.The Counseling Psychologist, 44(7), 1025-1049. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000015609046

    10. Jadva, V., Guasp, A., Bradlow, J.H., Bower-Brown, S., & Foley, S. (2023). Predictors of self-harm and suicide in LGBT youth: The role of gender, socio-economic status, bullying and school experience, Journal of Public Health, 45(1), 102–108. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab383

    11. Shangani, S., Gamarel, K. E., Ogunbajo, A., Cai, J., & Operario, D. (2020). Intersectional minority stress disparities among sexual minority adults in the USA: the role of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 22(4), 398–412. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2019.1604994

    12. Robinson, B. A., Mu, F., Webb, J. M., & Stone, A. L. (2026). Intersectional Social Support: Gender, Race, and LGBTQ Youth Friendships. Society and Mental Health, 16(1), 55-70. https://doi.org/10.1177/21568693241266960

    13. Arnold, E. A., & Bailey, M. M. (2009). Constructing Home and Family: How the Ballroom Community Supports African American GLBTQ Youth in the Face of HIV/AIDS. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 21(2–3), 171–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720902772006

    14. Singer, R.B., Crooks, N., Singer, R., Green, N., Stamps, J., Patil, C., & Matthews, A. (2022). Ballroom icons and the power to promote COVID-19 vaccination among Black and Brown LGBTQ+ individuals. American Journal of Public Health, 112, 17-20. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306581

    15. Richardson, L. P., Rockhill, C., Russo, J. E., Grossman, D. C., Richards, J., McCarty, C., McCauley, E., & Katon, W.. (2010). Evaluation of the PHQ-2 as a brief screen for detecting major depression among adolescents. Pediatrics, 125(5),e1097-e1103. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-2712

    16. Plummer, F., Manea, L., Trepel, D., & McMillan, D. (2016). Screening for anxiety disorders with the GAD-7 and GAD-2: A systematic review and diagnostic meta-analysis. General Hospital Psychiatry, 39, 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2015.11.005

    17. Mpofu, J. J., Underwood, J. M., Thornton, J. E., Brener, N. D., Rico, A., Kilmer, G., Harris, W. A., Leon-Nguyen, M., Chyen, D., Lim, C., Mbaka, C. K., Smith-Grant, J., Whittle, L., Jones, S. E., Krause, K. H., Li, J., Shanklin, S. L., McKinnon, I., Arrey, L., Queen, B. E., & Roberts, A. M. (2023). Overview and methods for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System—United States, 2021. MMWR Supplements, 72(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7201a1

The Trevor Project (2026). The Intersectionality of Discrimination and the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People of Color. https://doi.org/10.70226/SLOZ2169

For more information please contact: [email protected]

© The Trevor Project 2026

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