Mental Health

Most adults report high levels of hope (84.8%) and flourishing (79%), indicating that they have set positive goals for their lives, identified pathways to achieve those goals, and have high levels of agency.

Participants reported significantly high exposure to childhood trauma.

• Nearly two-thirds reported 2 or more Adverse Childhood Experiences
  (ACEs)—much higher than the national rate of 38%.
• 37% reported 4 or more ACEs, compared to 15.8% nationally.
• In comparison with the overall populations of both Oklahoma and the U.S., the study’s sample reports higher ACE scores, reflecting greater exposure to childhood trauma in the home.

Rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and unwanted sexual contact are high, especially among SGM individuals assigned female at birth.

• 61.5% of respondents reported experiencing at least one instance of IPV, nearly twice the rate among the general population nationally. 24% of respondents reported exposure to 4 or more items. 42.1% of individual assigned female at birth reported at least one instance of IPV before their 18th birthday, compared with 25.8% of females in national estimates.
• Half of SGM respondents reported ever experiencing unwanted sexual contact. Nearly two-thirds of SGM individuals assigned female at birth experienced unwanted sexual contact, 18% higher than the general female population.

Mental health diagnoses and serious psychological distress are prevalent among SGM respondents, especially among youth and gender minority individuals.

• Two-thirds reported diagnoses related to anxiety or depression. In the present study, youth reported experiencing anxiety and depression 11% higher than adults.
• 1 in 4 SGM participants reported serious psychological distress—much higher than national estimates of the general population ranging from 2.9- 5.2%. Nearly two-thirds of youth and nearly 40% of gender minorities reported such distress.
• Despite such high rates of mental health diagnoses and psychological distress, just over 1 in 4 adult participants report currently seeing a mental health professional. Of those who have ever discussed their SGM identity with a professional, nearly 20% reported that the professional attempted to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Suicidality is strikingly higher among the study’s sample, especially among youth.

• 21.6% of adults (5x the national average) and 59.1% of youth (3x the national average) reported suicidal ideation.
• 3.8% of adults (6x the national average) and 21.5% of youth (3x the national average) reported having attempted suicide.