Pronoun Respect and Suicide Risk: New Research Links Everyday Affirmation to Transgender Youth Mental Health

A new analysis released within the last week by The Trevor Project, a U.S.-based but internationally referenced LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization, reports that transgender and nonbinary young people whose pronouns are respected by “all or most” people in their lives are far less likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year than peers whose pronouns are rarely or never respected. Inside Higher Ed, which covered the report as new research on December 15, 2025, highlighted the same core finding: everyday social affirmation, particularly consistent pronoun respect, is strongly associated with reduced suicide risk for transgender and nonbinary youth.

While the underlying data come from The Trevor Project’s national surveys, the organization’s research has become a reference point in global discussions on queer youth mental health, especially for countries that lack large-scale, identity-specific mental health datasets. The new analysis is being discussed by educators, mental health providers, and advocates beyond the United States as evidence that specific, low-cost social practices—such as correctly using a young person’s pronouns—can form part of broader strategies to address the mental health crisis affecting transgender and queer youth worldwide.

According to The Trevor Project’s new analysis, transgender and nonbinary young people whose pronouns are respected by “all or most” of the people in their lives reported substantially lower rates of attempting suicide in the preceding 12 months than those whose pronouns are not acknowledged. Inside Higher Ed reports that the organization’s researchers examined patterns of suicidal ideation and attempts in relation to pronoun respect across key settings such as family, school, peers, and online spaces.

The Trevor Project’s analysis builds on its earlier national survey findings that transgender and nonbinary youth consistently report higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts than their cisgender LGBTQ+ peers. However, the new report goes further by isolating pronoun respect as a specific protective factor—distinct from broader categories such as “family support” or “affirming school climate”—and quantifying its relationship to suicide attempts.

In comments reported by Inside Higher Ed, Trevor Project researchers describe pronoun respect not merely as a matter of politeness or identity recognition, but as an indicator of whether the young person’s gender is socially validated in their daily life. The analysis indicates that higher levels of pronoun respect correlate with lower reported suicide attempts, even when controlling for other variables such as age, race, and broader measures of support, suggesting that pronoun affirmation itself plays a distinctive role in supporting mental health.

Although The Trevor Project’s data are drawn from youth living in the United States, the findings relate directly to global trends in transgender youth mental health and rights. The World Health Organization notes that LGBTQ+ people, including transgender youth, face elevated risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide linked to stigma, discrimination, and violence rather than to their identities themselves. Similar patterns have been documented in national reports from countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, where transgender adolescents report disproportionately high rates of self-harm and suicidal ideation compared with non-LGBTQ+ peers.

In several European countries, debates have intensified over whether schools may recognize a student’s affirmed name or pronouns without parental consent. Parallel controversies in parts of Latin America and Eastern Europe have centered on whether public institutions should acknowledge non-binary identities, including through gender markers and pronoun usage in official documents. Against this backdrop, the new pronoun-respect findings offer empirical support for the view that official and informal recognition of a young person’s gender identity can be considered a public health measure as well as a human rights obligation.

LGBTQ+ and transgender advocacy organizations in multiple regions frequently reference research from The Trevor Project in their own policy submissions and educational materials, particularly in countries where comparable large-scale datasets are unavailable. In this context, the new analysis on pronoun respect is likely to circulate among global advocacy networks as evidence that concrete, easily implemented practices by families, educators, and peers can reduce suicide risk among transgender and nonbinary youth.

The Trevor Project’s new pronoun-focused analysis is consistent with emerging international research that highlights the role of social affirmation as a key protective factor for queer youth mental health. Earlier longitudinal work by The Trevor Project, published in its Project SPARK interim report, found that experiences such as discrimination, physical threats, and unmet basic needs increased the likelihood of later anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among LGBTQ+ youth, while supportive actions from family, friends, and affirming environments reduced these risks over time. That study also reported that transgender and nonbinary youth were nearly twice as likely as cisgender LGBTQ+ peers to experience anxiety and suicidal ideation.

Beyond the United States, research from Canada has shown that transgender youth who report high levels of school connectedness and family support have lower rates of serious psychological distress and suicide attempts than those who experience rejection or misgendering. A large study of transgender adolescents in Australia similarly identified affirmation of gender identity in family and school settings—including use of chosen name and pronouns—as strongly associated with better mental health outcomes.

The new Trevor Project analysis contributes additional, focused evidence that pronoun respect itself functions as one of these protective mechanisms. Inside Higher Ed notes that the research will likely inform campus policies and training programs aimed at reducing suicide risk among transgender and nonbinary students in secondary and postsecondary education. Training approaches often emphasize the importance of consistent use of names and pronouns, inclusive classroom practices, and clear non-discrimination policies.

Public health agencies and professional bodies increasingly frame anti-LGBTQ+ stigma and discrimination as modifiable risk factors for mental health problems rather than as unchangeable background conditions. The World Health Organization has stated that legal recognition, protection from violence, and access to affirming health and social services are central to improving mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ people. Within that framework, The Trevor Project’s new pronoun-focused findings suggest that micro-level behaviors—such as how individuals address transgender and nonbinary youth—can be considered part of a broader, multi-level intervention strategy.

In school settings globally, guidance from organizations such as UNESCO, Human Rights Watch, and ILGA World emphasizes that correctly using a student’s name and pronouns is a basic element of safe and inclusive learning environments. The new analysis offers quantifiable evidence that these practices are not only about inclusion but also about reducing life-threatening risk among a population already facing elevated rates of suicidal ideation and attempts.

Community-based organizations in regions such as South Asia, Eastern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa, where legal protections may be limited or absent, have increasingly adopted pronoun and name affirmation within peer-support groups, crisis hotlines, and youth drop-in centers. These organizations often draw on international research to justify their practices when engaging with funders, policymakers, or skeptical community stakeholders. The new Trevor Project analysis is likely to further support such efforts by reinforcing the message that respecting pronouns is a measurable component of suicide prevention among transgender and nonbinary youth.

Policy debates over transgender rights frequently center on high-profile issues such as access to gender-affirming medical care, legal recognition, and participation in sports. The new pronoun-respect findings draw attention to another dimension of these debates: whether institutions and individuals will be permitted—or required—to recognize a young person’s self-identified name and pronouns in day-to-day interactions. For example, in some jurisdictions, proposed or enacted policies mandate that schools notify parents if a student uses different pronouns at school, potentially deterring educators from affirming students whose home environments may be unsupportive.

In higher education, Inside Higher Ed notes that the new research is being discussed in relation to campus systems for collecting and displaying chosen names and pronouns on class rosters, ID cards, and digital platforms. Many universities in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia have already implemented or piloted such systems, citing both inclusion and student well-being. The Trevor Project’s analysis provides further justification for these measures as part of evidence-based suicide prevention strategies for transgender and nonbinary students.

In clinical practice, mental health providers increasingly receive training on gender-affirming care for youth, including respecting names and pronouns as standard professional conduct. The new pronoun-focused data add to the rationale for such training by highlighting a specific link between affirmation and reduced suicide attempts. For clinicians working in countries without formal guidelines on transgender youth care, internationally accessible research from organizations like The Trevor Project and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health can provide practical reference points.

Across regions, studies and reports converge on a central theme: transgender and broader LGBTQ+ youth are not inherently prone to poor mental health, but they are exposed to elevated levels of social stressors—stigma, discrimination, violence, and rejection—that increase their risk of depression and suicide. International bodies such as the World Health Organization and UNESCO argue that reducing these stressors through protective laws, inclusive policies, and affirming practices is essential to meeting global mental health goals.

Within this broader trend, The Trevor Project’s new pronoun-respect analysis stands out because it identifies a clear, actionable behavior that can be adopted almost immediately in families, schools, clinics, and community organizations worldwide: consistently using transgender and nonbinary young people’s self-identified pronouns. The evidence that such a practice is associated with significantly lower suicide attempt rates positions pronoun respect as both a matter of dignity and a practical, measurable tool for suicide prevention.

As governments, educators, and health systems consider how to respond to ongoing concerns about queer youth mental health globally, the new findings offer a direct, research-backed message: everyday affirmation—including the simple act of getting someone’s pronouns right—can save lives.