The Children’s Safety Network (CSN) addressed suicide prevention and bullying awareness in this webinar on youth data for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or another non-heterosexual identity (LGBTQ+) . LGBTQ+ youth experience persistent disparities. According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience bullying, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempts than their peers (CDC, 2024). Due to changing environments states and jurisdictions face, gathering and utilizing data on LGBTQ+ youth for prevention purposes has become increasingly more difficult. Rewatch our webinar to learn more about LGBTQ+ Youth Data from YRBS and the Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People, specifically focusing on suicide and self-harm prevention and bullying prevention.
Nicolas Suarez, a health scientist at the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, and Dr. Ronita Nath, Vice President of Research at The Trevor Project, presented on data on LGBTQ+ youth. Dr. Alex Keuroghlian, Director of the Division of Education and Training at The Fenway Institute and Children’s Safety Now Alliance member, moderated the webinar.
Note: CSN is using the term LGBTQ+, per the CDC’s definition in YRBS, to mean lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or another non-heterosexual identity. CSN has also used the term LGBQ+ youth to mean lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, or other non-heterosexual identity based on data available for analysis in infographics and fact sheets. The exclusion of transgender youth was based on a lack of data on transgender youth. See additional CSN resources here: https://www.childrenssafetynetwork.org/resources/injury-violence-disparities-between-lgbq-heterosexual-youth-resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023 U S Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/yrbs/dstr/index.html
The Trevor Project. (2024). 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). MMWR, October 10, 2024. Vol. 73, No. 4. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/su/pdfs/su7304-H.pdf
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtrKGjIcB8E