Associate Professor Indiana University and Kinsey Institute Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Body of Abstract:
Purpose: Suicide is a growing public health concern among young people, and despite historically reporting low rates of suicidality, Black young people now represent the fastest growing suicide rate, warranting immediate attention for salient and culturally-relevant prevention and intervention strategies. That said, Black populations are not a monolith and consist of diverse groups who bring distinct risk and protective factors as a result of their lived experiences. With this in mind, the goal of the present study was to better understand mental health and suicidality among Black transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) young people.
Methods: Responses were analyzed from a national quantitative cross-sectional survey of more than 18,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning young people (LGBTQ+), aged between 13 and 24 years, in the U.S., including 1,717 Black TGNB youth.
Results: Overall, 78% of Black TGNB young people reported recent symptoms of anxiety, 63% reported recent symptoms of depression, and 66% reported self-harming in the past year, with 58% of Black TGNB young people reported seriously considering suicide in the past year and 25% having attempted suicide in the past year. There were no significant differences between Black nonbinary and Black transgender young people. Black TGNB young people had increased odds of reporting all assessed indicators of poor mental health compared to both their White and Black cisgender LGBQ+ peers, with the exception of anxiety symptoms. Additionally, Black TGNB young people had an increased odds of attempting suicide in the past year compared to their White TGNB peers. Controlling for housing instability, socioeconomic status, and food insecurity alone did not impact this finding; however, adding experiences of racial discrimination and attachment to their racial ethnic group completely removed the increased risk for suicidality compared to White TGNB young people.
Conclusion: The findings highlight the need to directly address the unique issues facing Black TGNB young people and illustrate that advancing antiracism alongside gender-inclusive policies, while also finding ways to build on the strengths within the Black community can support our most vulnerable young people.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant should be able to summarize mental findings for Black transgender and nonbinary young people in and of themselves.
At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant should be able to summarize mental findings for Black transgender and nonbinary young people they relate to their cisgender and White peers.
At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant should be able to identity ways to make suicide prevention and intervention methods more salient for Black transgender and nonbinary young people.
