Looking Out for LGBTQ+ Youth

With increasing acceptance and information, more people are understanding themselves as and identifying as part of the LGBT community. Part of growing up is exploring what it means to be you and having the pleasure of your loved ones knowing you in your authenticity. Like cisgender kids (pronounced ‘sis’, aka their gender aligns with biological sex), kids who don’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth know who they are at an early age – even if they don’t have the vocabulary to describe it. Studies have shown that by elementary school, transgender kids that have been supported by their caregivers are cognitively indistinguishable from their cis same-gender peers. The inverse is shown when compared to different-gender cis peers.

Unfortunately, not everyone is accepted as warmly as the kids in that study. Behavioral health struggles in LGBTQ+ community, compared to their cisgender- heterosexual peers, are heart-wrenching to hear, but important to know. Suicide is Montana’s #1 preventable death, a state that is top 5 for suicide rates. In 2021, 1/5 students who got bullied or harassed in Valley County high schools reported it being related to being or thought to be gay. LGBTQ+ youth are 4x more likely to attempt than their cishet peers, and a quarter of trans youth make an attempt on their own life. 6 out of 7 people survive their attempts, but survivors are 3x more likely to try again. As per a 2017 research article, people in the LGBTQ+ community are half as likely to have their mental healthcare needs met than a cishet woman.

The above information can be distressing, but family acceptance is shown to be the greatest preventative measure. People that receive high acceptance from their family are nearly half as likely to attempt suicide. Acceptance is linked to greater overall well-being. Key parts on the family’s side are to express affection when you learn of your loved one’s identities, and to advocate for them when they experience mistreatment. Advocacy includes acting in response to other family members. Being able to see and feel the support of the people you love most, that are supposed to be there for you unconditionally, means the world.

Stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community may reflect high substance abuse. As a common thread of substance use, drugs and alcohol are used as a coping mechanism or an escape from some aspect of life. While the use gap between cishet and LGBTQ+ young people substance use has narrowed some since the 1990s, research shows there is still higher use rates among LGBTQ+ youth – especially young girls and women. Many studies have thankfully shown the protective quality of school connectedness and school adult support as consistently associated with lower odds of substance use.

LGBTQ+ people in rural and frontier communities/areas report higher feelings of isolation than urban counterparts, so supportive family and friends become that much more important. The struggle queer people experience is not from queerness itself, but from the harassment and cruelty of others in response to being queer. Research shows that with acceptance, support, and kindness, the differences between queer and cishet behavioral health narrows sharply. We want our kids to grow up happy and healthy. Part of ensuring that is asserting that LGBTQ+ kids “...should not be forced to wait for adulthood to receive society’s permission to be themselves” (Charles Dunst, 2019).

Even in the Middle of Nowhere, resources are available. Consider counseling as an option for yourself or a loved one for additional support in a world that isn’t always kind to LGBTQ+ people - not to “fix” what was never broken. The Trevor Project offers information and support for LGBTQ+ young people as well as 24/7 365 call (1-866-488-7386), text (‘START’ to 678-678), and online chat lines. with specialized counselors. As of July 2022, the National Suicide Hotline will change from 800- 273-8255 to 988 as the National Mental Health Crisis Lifeline for 24/7 behavioral health crisis and suicide support.

If you’d like to share a story of resilience around behavioral health, consider submitting an anonymous entry to Stories from the Strong at valleycarecoalition.com