A new analysis of data from the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey found that transgender people reported higher rates of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts than the general U.S. population. The study also identified several factors linked to increased risk.
Researchers from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law examined data from a survey of more than 92,000 transgender individuals. Among respondents aged 16 and older, 39 percent reported seriously considering suicide in the year before the survey, and 5 percent reported attempting suicide.
By comparison, the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 5 percent of U.S. adults in the general population reported suicidal thoughts and that 0.6 percent reported a suicide attempt.
The analysis found higher rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts among respondents who experienced violence, homelessness, poor health challenges, substance abuse or barriers to accessing gender-affirming care.
Among respondents who reported being physically attacked because they are transgender, 65 percent said they had seriously considered suicide in the previous year and 20 percent reported a suicide attempt.
Researchers also found higher rates among respondents who needed gender-affirming care but had not received it. Similar trends appeared among those with incorrect identification documents or those denied restroom access.
Notably, age played a significant role. More than half — 58 percent — of respondents aged 16 to 17 reported suicidal thoughts in the previous year. This compared with 14 percent of respondents aged 65 or older.
The study also examined the effects of conversion therapy. Among respondents aged 16 to 17 who attended a conversion-therapy program, 85 percent reported suicidal thoughts in the previous year. More than one-third — 37 percent — of youth respondents exposed to conversion therapy reported a suicide attempt.
Additionally, researchers found differences based on state policy environments. Respondents living in states with more supportive transgender policies reported lower rates of suicidal thoughts than those living in states with negative public policies.
“As states increasingly adopt laws that negatively target transgender people, reducing suicidality among transgender people becomes more challenging,” said study author Ayden Scheim, senior scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute, in a news release.
