01/13/2026
Su***de 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 su***de-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 Su***de 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, su***de risk remained sharply elevated—pointing to stigma, discrimination and exclusionary policies as powerful drivers of harm, researchers said.
“Su***de 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.”
Full story and study link in first comment below ⤵️
