LGBTQ+ youth are incredibly concerned and aware of the political landscape. As state policies continue to endanger laws around access to gender-affirming healthcare, a new Trevor Project Survey shows that these young people are far more likely to considering moving from state to state, Parents reported.
The Trevor Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ young people.
The report analyzed data showing the overlap between LGBTQ+ youth’s perceived safety and mental well-being, and state policies. It then used information from the Movement Advancement Project to assess the social and political landscapes that led these youth to leave the state where they live.
LGBTQ+ Young People Deeply Affected By Policy
This study used the Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People — which had over 18,000 participants from around the country between the ages of 13 and 24. Then, using the Movement Advancement Project’s data, which tracks over 50 different LGBTQ+ -related policies, the researchers were able to demonstrate a coronation between anti-LGBTQ+ policies and the likelihood that those young people would move, or consider moving, from state to state.
While 37% of cisgender folx (that is, folx whose gender identity matches the one they were assigned at birth) reported a negative impact on their well-being from political policies, 61% of transgender and nonbinary youth experienced these impacts.
Nine out of 10 LGBTQ+ youth reported that anti-LGBTQ+ policies negatively impacted their well-being; trans and nonbinary youth clocked in at 94%. Because of this, nearly 2 in 5 (or 39%) considered moving, while 4% actually had relocated because of political worries.
Compared to their cisgender peers, 45% of trans and nonbinary youth considered moving (cisgender young folx thought about the same option only 26% of the time), and 12% considered going across state lines to access medical care.
Psychologist Lisa S. Larson, PsyD works with LGBTQ+ young people in her California practice and says these concerns are very real in her experience.
“There’s a lot of fear in my clients who are teens and people in their 20s who identify as LGBTQ+, especially transgender and nonbinary youth, the people are coming after them,” she explains.
Importantly, 27% of all LGBTQ+ young people surveyed reported they live in states with harmful political climates, specific to LGBTQ+ safety. Young peoples’ considerations to move depended on whether the political landscape felt safe to them; seven out of ten (68%) trans and nonbinary young people who live in harmful political environments considered moving to different states.
Steven Hobaica, PhD, a Research Scientist at The Trevor Project, says these finding were extremely troubling, but emphasized the need for studies of this kind.
“This study uniquely integrates a state-level policy index with self-reported well-being and relocation information from a large national data set of LGBTQ+ young people, offering a detailed view of how policy environments shape well-being, relocation decisions, and health care access,” he explains. “This focus felt critical as the surge on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, particularly targeting transgender and nonbinary youth, has amplified concerns about their safety, mental health, and access to necessary care.”
Why LGBTQ+ Young People Are Worried
The political climate is currently filled with worry for LGBTQ+ young people. With LGBTQ+ book bans, and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation cropping up across the United States, this study is timely.
“Policies that prevent harmful state-level legislation, such as bans on necessary care, are crucial,” Dr. Hobaica explains, elaborating that safe school environments and equitable healthcare systems can truly make a difference.
“This study underscores the need for comprehensive federal protections, including anti-discrimination laws that protect access to health care, education, and public services, with explicit protections for transgender and nonbinary young people,” Dr. Hobiaca explains.