Climate change is increasingly worrying LGBTQ+ youth: report

Many young LGBTQ+ people are concerned about climate change, according to the latest research brief from the Trevor Project.

Among the sample of LGBTQ+ young people, the majority reported worrying about climate change “a lot,” notes the brief, released Wednesday. Fifty-five percent said they worry about climate change frequently, while 38 percent said they worry about it sometimes, and only 7 percent said they don’t worry about it at all.

The brief drew on data from the Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Concern about climate change was associated with a variety of demographic variables. Frequent worry about the matter was more likely to be reported by those aged 18 to 24 (59 percent), those living in large cities (59 percent), and those in the Northeast (56 percent), the West (56 percent), and the Midwest (55 percent) than those who were younger (50 percent), in the South (52 percent), or outside of cities (54 percent).

Respondents who had difficulty meeting basic needs reported concern about climate change more frequently than those who did not. White respondents were more likely to report this worry than Black ones, and nonbinary youth expressed concern at higher levels than cisgender males.

Climate change worry was related to higher rates of depression and anxiety symptoms. Those who reported symptoms of anxiety were more likely to report frequently worrying about climate change (59 percent) than those who did not report anxiety symptoms (47 percent). Similarly, those who reported depression symptoms had higher rates of frequent climate change worry (58 percent) than those who didn’t (51 percent).

Respondents who lived in areas with a higher risk of climate change reported more frequent worrying about it, but even those in the highest-risk areas reported anxiety symptoms at a lower rate than those in the lowest-risk areas.

Overall, however, the brief indicates that LGBTQ+ youth are deeply concerned about the matter, Trevor Project officials said. “Our data show that today’s LGBTQ+ young people are tuned into the world they are inheriting, reporting frequent worries about climate change,” said a statement from Dr. Steven Hobaica, a research scientist at the Trevor Project. “These concerns were also intertwined with broader mental health problems, including symptoms of depression and anxiety, which are already heightened among LGBTQ+ young people. In short, this could mean that climate change, and how climate change is addressed, may contribute to the mental health challenges that LGBTQ+ youth face, yet more research is necessary. Our findings underscore a crucial need for mental health services and integrated support systems that address both environmental and psychological stressors for LGBTQ+ youth.”