Study: Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of suicide-related outcomes in a nationally representative sample of young adults (DOI: 10.1080/29968992.2025.2607671)
Suicide is driven not by personal failings, but by stigma, exclusion and policy choices, according to a new University of Michigan study.
LGBTQ+ young adults face suicide-related risks two to five times higher than their peers, with transgender and nonbinary youth bearing the greatest burden.
The study, funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, is timely because it makes clear that these disparities are not the result of individual vulnerability, but of social and structural forces. Even after accounting for income, education, employment and geographic region, suicide risk remained sharply elevated-pointing to stigma, discrimination and exclusionary policies as powerful drivers of harm, researchers said.
"Suicide risk among LGBTQ+ young adults is not an individual-level issue-it's a systemic public health challenge," said lead author Lisa Fedina, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. "Policies that remove protections, limit access to affirming health care or exclude sexual orientation and gender identity from data collection may increase risk rather than reduce it."
Published in the International Journal of LGBTQ+ Youth Studies, the study analyzed data from a 2021 nationally representative survey of 1,077 young adults ages 18-29.
Researchers examined four suicide-related outcomes-suicidal ideation, suicidal behavior, self-harm and suicide attempts-offering a comprehensive national snapshot of suicide risk among young adults. Unlike prior research, this study examined individual demographics alongside household and geographic context, providing a more complete picture of how suicide risk is shaped by lived experience and social environment.
Sexual orientation emerged as the only factor consistently associated with all four suicide-related outcomes, even after adjusting for a wide range of sociodemographic characteristics. Gender minority young adults also faced significantly elevated risk, particularly for suicide attempts. Nearly one in four transgender and nonbinary respondents reported attempting suicide in the past year, and they were five to six times more likely to report self-harm or suicide attempts compared to their peers.
Three takeaways:
- LGBTQ+ young adults experience two to five times higher risk of suicidal ideation, self-harm and suicide attempts.
- Transgender and nonbinary young adults face the most severe risk, including nearly 25% reporting a suicide attempt in the past year and five to six times more likely of self-harm and suicide attempts.
- Disparities persist after accounting for income, education, employment and region, pointing to structural and social determinants such as stigma and discrimination that explain risk differences.
At a time when evidence-based policymaking-and LGBTQ+ inclusion in public health data-are increasingly under debate, Fedina said the study underscores a critical truth: What we choose to measure shapes what we choose to protect.
"Excluding sexual orientation and gender identity from surveillance systems does not create neutrality-it obscures risk and delays lifesaving action," she said.
Fedina co-authored the study alongside Stephanie Secaira and Jordan DeVylder of New York University and Madelyn Koshay and Cheryl King of the University of Michigan.
