The Role of Family Support in Moderating Mental Health Outcomes for LGBTQ+ Youth in Primary Care
LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience depression and thoughts and attempts of suicide than their cisgender, heterosexual peers.
This Research at a Glance brief highlights research utilizing Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Adolescent Health Questionnaire that found the prevalence of depression and suicidal thoughts among LGBTQ+ youth were significantly reduced when teens felt supported by their parents.
These findings underscore the critical role families play in helping these youth live healthier lives and highlight primary care visits as a unique opportunity to engage with youth and families to positively enhance mental health.
While this study builds the evidence base for primary care interventions to improve the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth by enhancing family support, more research is needed to better understand the protective effect of this support, develop best practices for interventions, and consider care team and payment models that help to deliver them.