For Queer Teens, One Trusted Person Changes Everything

For queer teens, the difference between surviving a crisis and being swallowed by one can come down to a single person. According to a study published in October 2026 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, among gay and lesbian teens, an estimated 61 percent of those without a trusted person had experienced depression in the past year, compared with 35 percent of those who had at least one person to turn to. The split on suicidal thoughts was steeper still: 66 percent of those without a trusted person had seriously considered suicide, versus 27 percent of those with one.

The research, led by Evan Krueger, an assistant professor at Tulane University's School of Social Work, drew on a national survey of adolescents ages twelve to seventeen. "Across the board, having someone to talk to was linked to lower rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and having a suicide plan in the past year," Krueger said. "But for many LGBQ+ youth, it made an even bigger difference."

That last line is the one worth sitting with. Supportive relationships helped every teenager in the survey, yet the effect was strongest for queer teens, a group already carrying extra weight from stigma, discrimination and bullying on top of ordinary adolescence. The finding suggests the problem is not simply that some teens face more adversity. It is that the same adversity becomes far more dangerous when there is nobody to name it to out loud. Teenagers have been saying exactly this to the adults in charge, as recent reporting on teen voices found.

Who teens call when things go wrong

The study also asked where teenagers take their serious problems, and the answers reveal a quiet divide at home. About eight in ten heterosexual teens said they would turn to a parent, compared with about six in ten gay, lesbian and bisexual teens. Queer teens instead leaned more on friends, romantic partners and other trusted adults, and they tended to draw on several different people rather than a single one.

Krueger pointed to the reason behind the shortfall: when faced with a serious problem, heterosexual youth were more likely to say they could turn to a parent, and on average, queer teens were less likely to feel they could do the same. That hesitation is rational for many. A queer teen who is still figuring out identity may reasonably fear that confiding in a parent could backfire, so they build an alternative network out of friends, partners and other adults in their lives.

The hopeful part is that these patchwork networks work. The researchers note that friends cannot fully replace a consistent supportive adult, yet the data show that having someone, anyone, on speed dial changes the odds. The question is no longer whether queer teens are resilient. It is whether the rest of us are doing enough to make resilience unnecessary.

Why the help is arriving just as the safety net frays

The findings land at an awkward moment. The federal suicide lifeline's dedicated service for LGBTQ+ youth lost its funding a year ago, and young people have been feeling the gap ever since, as reporting by HerCampus documented this year. At the same time, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed teen mental health improving slightly, a shift experts credit in part to school-based efforts that connect students with support. This study may help explain why those efforts work: connection itself is the intervention.

Supportive teachers, counselors and other school staff matter especially for queer teens who cannot count on affirmation at home. The research team found that such adults play a central role in filling the support gap and building a sense of safety and belonging. Schools, families and communities each hold a piece of the answer, and the message for each is the same. No teenager should face a serious problem alone.

Krueger framed the stakes plainly. Facilitating meaningful, supportive relationships could begin to shrink the longstanding gaps in mental health outcomes for queer teens. Supportive relationships benefit all kids, but strengthening them may be one of the most direct tools available for closing the disparity.

How to be the person someone calls

If you are the friend who always answers, keep answering. Friendships increasingly begin as messages on a screen, as new reporting on college friendships shows, but what they grow into is real. If you are a parent, the bar is simpler than most expect: be the person your child can tell the hard thing to without watching you flinch. You do not need the perfect response. You need to listen, believe what you hear, and stay in the room.

If you are a teacher, coach or other adult, look for the quiet kid. Make your support explicit rather than assuming it is obvious, because teenagers navigating identity are not mind readers. Small signals, a safe classroom, a direct sentence like "I am here if you need to talk," travel farther than you think.

And if you are a queer teen who has nobody right now, borrow one. The Trevor Project's trained crisis counselors are available around the clock at 1-866-488-7386, through chat on their website, or by texting START to 678-678. You can also call or text 988 in the United States to reach the national crisis lifeline. Getting help is not a sign that you failed to be strong enough. It is the thing the strongest evidence now says actually works.