Campus discrimination raises depression among LGBTQ+ students

A survey of 17,942 LGBTQ+ college students across 119 institutions in 34 states, drawn from the 2024–2025 Healthy Minds Study, provides the largest examination of how discrimination affects mental health and health‑care use. The research, carried out by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Boston University School of Public Health and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, is the first to assess these associations during and immediately after a national election year, a period of heightened political debate over LGBTQ+ rights.

Study scope and timing

One in 10 LGBTQ+ students reported campus discrimination in the past year. Those students were 84 % more likely to meet criteria for depression, 87 % more likely for anxiety and 78 % more likely to report suicidal thoughts. When discrimination took the form of denied health‑care or other services, the risks climbed even higher – denial of health care alone was linked to a more than 200 % higher likelihood of suicidal ideation.

Transgender and non‑binary students faced greater barriers to care, being more than twice as likely as LGBQ+ students to experience denial of health‑care. This is especially concerning because many transgender people rely on medical services for gender‑affirming care. The researchers also point to more than 1,000 bills introduced in 2025 that would limit transgender people’s access to health care, education or legal recognition, a broader policy context for the personal harms identified.

Need for better training and research

More than half of participants met criteria for depression, and nearly half of LGBQ+ students and more than half of transgender and nonbinary students met criteria for anxiety. Over half of LGBTQ+ students sought mental‑health counseling, yet many continued to avoid needed medical care because of concerns about discrimination, with nearly 5 % of LGBQ+ and 13 % of transgender and non‑binary students reporting avoidance. The authors suggest counseling settings may be an important point of intervention to identify distress, offer affirming care and connect students with wider health services, and that improving training for clinicians and campus providers could reduce discriminatory experiences and improve outcomes.