As some background, studies have already shown that transgender and nonbinary youth have a higher risk for suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and depression when compared to both their cisgender, heterosexual peers and cisgender queer people. This is a big part of the reason the ongoing Republican effort to isolate trans youth from community spaces, like sports teams and even bathrooms, is so sick and harmful. We also know that trans youth are more likely to leave high school without a diploma, become homeless, and experience harassment and abuse.

This study found that for trans and nonbinary minors (meaning people below the age of 18), receiving hormonal therapy was associated with a close to 40% drop in odds of having a suicide attempt in the past year. That’s a huge, and again, lifesaving, difference. Even for folks above the age of 18, the study found that people receiving said hormonal therapy reported a lower likelihood of suicidal ideation and depression when compared to youth who wanted the treatment but couldn’t get it. 

In the study, 50% of all transgender and nonbinary young people said they were not receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy, but wanted to be, whereas 14% said they were receiving hormonal therapy. Just over one-third of respondents, at 36%, said they weren’t interested in receiving hormones. Mind you, someone’s gender identity never depends on medical intervention (like hormones) and is entirely valid either way.

Transgender and nonbinary youth of color reported lower rates of being able to access hormonal therapy when compared to white trans youth who sought it out. People living in the South also had low rates of being able to access such therapies. It’s impossible to consider this reality without thinking about the slew of anti-trans bills that have cropped up in the South that target both patients and physicians when it comes to providing gender-affirming, safe, age-appropriate medical care. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study also finds that affirming parents are a big part of youth being able to access such care. Less than 4% of respondents under the age of 18 were able to access gender-affirming hormones without parental support. On the other hand, almost 80% of minors who did access such therapy said they had at least one parent on their side.